Then Don't Change
by ran0neechan
Summary: While faking a kiss probably isn't the best way to say hello. Two strangers meet; one with a problem, and the other with the skills to solve it. However, when a mysterious child enters the picture, matters change entirely. As the story progresses enjoy their playful banter, mystery solving, Agasa's puns, and more. Rated T for future crimes/language. OCxShinichi
1. Familiar Face?

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Detective Conan. If I did; fluff. Shameless fluff. Everywhere.

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><p>First love. It can strike at any time... and it struck me at the tender age of six. Sure, at that age other girls fell for the boy who oh-so-boldly crossed their pride ridden boundaries, and called her cute. But for me, it was no small act of bravery, but his courageous personality itself. Everything about the boy screamed intelligence beyond his years. Morals of right and wrong not based on selfish desires. Curiosity with all good intentions in mind. And knowledge. He could outsmart adults— detectives even, and not by luck or pure chance, he simply knew the answer. He always knew. Yeah, this resulted in bigheaded-ness more than once, but I couldn't find it in myself to dislike his gloating. He had a right to gloat.<p>

The memory of that boy detective still floats into my mind whenever I'm in a pinch since he always had an answer; always had a clue.

And if anything, I wish I had that little detective now. . .

"We already have men searching there. Get some guys in the northern part of town," two men spoke in a hushed whisper. Sneaking about the night for their target; me.

The one in charge sent his men in a direction opposite to me, since I managed to deceive him earlier. However, my wits come in short bursts so... now what?

I kept calm and surveyed my hideaway between the two buildings. Nothing around looked helpful though, and the dumpsters weren't high enough for me climb to the roof.

_I can't stick around. Get spotted in this alley, and they'll have me cornered_, I thought whilst peeking over a trashcan. Some men dashed by. My breath caught, and I dropped out of sight.

With a hand over my thudding heart, I reconsidered my situation. It's not that bad. Those men aren't too threatening. They only work at night after all, like vampires. I've been told it's their 'signature' or 'calling card'. They like the media to know what crimes they've committed since they're a large syndicate that doesn't worry about getting caught. However, they do have an issue with letting members go, the thing is, they don't— which is why I'm running. As long as I get home though, those bloodsuckers can't touch me.

Curiosity struck and I was helpless. I snuck out of my hiding spot to search for anyone still lurking about. A crowd of people were drawing nearer, but thankfully none appeared to be dangerous. As soon as they passed by I walked a few paces behind them as cover to delve deeper into Japan's crowded streets.

When we meandered into a populated area I took off, and as luck would have it, the first corner I rounded brought me into interference, "whoa!" the person I bumped off of gasped.

"Ouch," I shouted upon hitting the ground. Just before I rebounded and took off, the stranger grabbed my arm.

"What's the rush?" he asked. His cap shadowed most of his features, but from his tone he sounded more curious than concerned. And not even a hint of aggravation considering _I'm_ the one who was being careless. _Suspicious_. An alarm went off in my head. I hastily blurted, "Sale!"

"For what?"

"Would you!" I kicked him in the shin and ran off.

"Ouch!" he dropped and clutched his leg in pain.

I escaped him successfully, but lost track of where I intended to go, and found myself wandering around a dead part of town.

_Great, all the the stores are closed over here._ Without the seclusion and cover of bustling townsfolk a cloak of unease covered my mind, but it seemed like **they** weren't around either, so I took a breather and reevaluated my situation. After rubbing the sweat from my forehead, I looked left then right, and came to a conclusion.

_...I'm lost... Wait- that ramen shop looks familiar, so I was going the right way?_ I stretched my tired legs for another bout of running. But right as I took off something yanked my leg back. I tripped, then quickly looked back to my foot, and spotted someone else's next to it.

The one who tripped me smirked at the sight of my ire. I couldn't discern why in the world my pain would please this stranger, then it hit me, he's the one I kicked earlier.

I snapped sotto voce, "You think that's funny!? Ya idiot!"

I don't like to admit it, but my mindset is _it doesn't matter what I did, what you did is worse_, so sometimes there's no reasoning with me. He motioned his shoulders as if to say _I donno_. Although that look on his face said otherwise.

I planted both hands firmly on the ground and swung my leg around, hit both of his legs, and knocked him flat on the pavement. He surrendered with a scowl spreading over his face. I hid a laugh at the sight, and dusted myself off.

After loosely helping him up I realized our difference in height. I grinned up to him and he smiled down to me; a silent way of reconciling with each other. We hadn't even introduced ourselves, yet somehow it felt as though we became friends.

He opened his mouth to speak when fear struck my eyes, striking confusion in his. Those pursuers were rounding the corner just mere seconds away from where we stood.

I grabbed the guy's upper arms, swung him into a nearby alley, then asked, "Could you help?"

Although puzzled, he didn't hesitate to answer, "Sure."

I snatched his hat and jacket then put them on.

_It's just an act_, I convinced myself. Although when I spoke next my voice still quivered, "lean over."

I cupped his chin in my hands, and gently pulled his face closer until our noses touched. I whispered for him to put his hands around my hips, and he complied. My palms hid the small space between our lips, and we closed our eyes. As the pursuers passed they joked about our PDA, but other than that, they left. The hoax was a success.

The two of us were only breathing on each other, but as soon as they were gone we yanked apart.

I slipped out of his jacket, mumbling, "thanks."

He pushed it back into my hands. "Keep it, I won't pry anything out of you, but I think you need it more than me."

Even after such a situation, this stranger was still willing to help me. "Thanks a lot," I expressed my gratitude the best I could with a hug, "we'll meet again!"

He patted my back. "Sure," sarcasm riddled in his voice conveyed how much he believed my statement. Then we went our separate ways.

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><p>Making it home got me in the clear— well no, let's be truthful here. Getting home just got me into another mess of trouble. My parents gave me the scolding of a lifetime for staying out past sundown. And as punishment, I've been appointed kitchen duty for a week.<p>

Luckily Grandma had been waiting for me at the kitchen table; she smiled and asked, "did ya find it?"

I pulled out a metallic microphone keychain. "Yeah."

Under this roof my grandmother is the only one capable of understanding me. I collect keychains. My collection consists of anything personally appealing so in a way it represents me. Although I'm not too keen on singing, the microphone is special.

What happened was I accidentally left it at a restaurant we visited earlier. And of course, business was booming when I returned to search for it, so I ended up losing track of time weaving in and out of the crowds of people. Then before the hour occurred to me, night had already fallen onto the sky. Luckily, by then the keychain was back in my hands.

The microphone keychain is one my parents gave me as a child when I won a talent show for singing a song called _I Am _from the anime Inuyasha. I had an obsession with the anime at the time— that abruptly ended with the first well I fell into. It _hurt_. And although the microphone itself is now a beat up unidentifiable scrap of metal, the memory embodied by it is my own finely cut diamond. I keep it close to remind myself that there will always be a place for me at home no matter how long this takes.

I removed the borrowed jacket and hat then started on the dishes when my parents walked in.

Mom pointed out the new additions to my outfit. "Did they spot you?"

"No, but they were patrolling."

Dad walked in. "Do they know we're here then?"

"Probably not in this particular area."

My parents seemed pleased with that and left. Ever the professionals, they have to question everything awry in this 'life' we've created. The people we spoke of actually did sorta spot me, but I'm fairly certain it was only my voice they heard. They aren't aware I've dyed my hair, so it's safe to assume they'll dismiss me as the wrong person.

After completing my punishment I ran down the hall, and plopped into bed. The cushions immediately put me under their spell which erased any memory of starting school tomorrow. So there everything was, spread out, when I woke up. My backpack was empty, and I was late. Everything in my head felt like cursing, but colorful words aren't meant for me. So, the frustration came out physically as I nearly broke my supplies while putting them away.

With everything packed up, I double checked myself in the mirror, and left.

_What was it called? Ah whatever, it was a... left? On this street? No, right._ I sprinted through somewhat familiar neighborhoods until my new school came into sight.

"Teitan," I read aloud while climbing the locked entrance gates. Then I entered through the front doors and patrolled the halls for my new class.

Although quiet on the outside, 2-A is my destination. I slid the door open. All the half-glazed eyes locked onto me in a silent standoff. It's never the best feeling to interrupt class, so I almost pushed the door closed to pretend like I picked the wrong room.

"I got a memo, but are you the new student?" The teacher asked.

I regained my composure, "yes."

She invited me to the front of the class, then gave an introductory, "Class this is Sachiko Keiko."

I bowed to my new classmates and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," the class echoed.

After she assigned me a seat it was business as usual. Although the rest of the period I received the occasional odd glance from classmates. Time seemed to fly otherwise, and the end of school came before I knew it.

"Ah, hey!"

I jerked back at the voice, and low and behold, the boy I didn't kiss last night stopped at my locker.

My face lit up. "I told you so!"

"Wait, how long have you had that spot?" He pointed at my shoe-locker as he opened his own. Apparently our lockers were right across from each other.

"I'm new actually."

"And in my grade it would seem." He eyed my second year textbooks. "That's funny."

I looked up from checking the contents of my bag, asking, "why?"

He rested an elbow on my shoulder. His smiled gradually grew wider as he waited for me to understand. "I wonder."

He took a wide step back as I swung my bag at him. "I get it, I'm short!"

"Oh, who is this?" A girl with long brown hair smiled at us. At her side came a girl with short blond hair.

"Hm?" He took notice of them and said, "oh, this is-" his head snapped back to me. "Wait... _who is this?_"

All their sudden attention sent me stumbling, I had to regain proper footing before answering, "I'm Sachiko Keiko."

The blond haired girl boldly pointed to herself. "Well, I'm Suzuki Sonoko."

"Mouri Ran." The brown haired girl softly smiled.

The boy grinned and winked just before saying, "Kudo Shinichi." Then Shinichi turned to the two girls. "She's new here so be nice."

"Nice? What's this? Keiko did you bribe him?" Sonoko met me shoulder to shoulder with a smile.

My hands shot up in defense. "No, I just met Shinichi yesterday."

"I see." Ran elbowed Shinichi. He rolled his eyes then left while they took me arm in arm out the door, barraging me with questions.

Unwilling to answer them, I wiggled out of their grip. "Wait I- I have to talk to Shinichi about something."

"Okay," Upon release they chuckled and watched me scurry up to Shinichi's side. He gave me a bemused smile as we began our walk home.

Shinichi laughed after he heard my side of what just happened with those two girls. Apparently the three of them are childhood friends. He also explained that their curiosity meant no harm.

"Do you have my things?" Shinichi asked then added in, "Keiko," with a little laugh in his voice. Simply knowing my name seemed to lighten his spirits.

"Yeah," I smiled. "They're at my house. If it's alright, you can come and pick them up."

"Sure," he grinned.

As we walked we talked. Oddly enough, his personality felt so right. Like we'd known each other for longer than today. Every shared joke; we understood, and at times even countered with another. We tossed in personal stories so easily, and could even tease each other about the details without feeling awkward or embarrassed. For example Shinichi explained how his parents have been living overseas. I asked if this gave him full rights to jump on the bed. He told me that yes, yes it does. That- that's amazing... But then he tried to brag about being a detective. He supported the fact with some extensive descriptions of cases he's solved, and although he seemed to fit the role, I had to be the skeptic.

"Liar," I declared.

"Why do you doubt me?" Shinichi asked.

"You're too young!"

"If you need proof," the confident smile which crept across his face sent a wave of unease through me. "I already know you're actually 16. I'm 17, but we're in the same grade. You're in Track. You have a habit of weaving your fingers in and over each other. Your favorite color is sky blue. And finally, your original hair color is brunette, not blonde," he smirked, looking expectantly, as if he could go on.

Fear began creeping over me. Who is this guy? "...how...?" My voice was so small I barely recognized it as my own.

"For starters, I noticed a chip of sky blue nail polish still on your pinky."

I flipped my fingernails up and noticed a chip of nail polish, like he said, and scratched it off.

"Awhile ago when you checked the contents of your wallet, I saw your birthdate on the ID inside."

I felt for my wallet, it was still there.

"In your hair the roots are already starting to grow its original color back."

I plucked a hair and examined it, he was right.

"Lastly, you're involvement in Track is obvious because of how you ran off yesterday."

"Huh?" I breathed, still half in shock.

"When you bumped into me, and hit the ground, you almost sprinted off in the runners position. Your thumbs pointed in with the other fingers pointed out, and on your toes. Until you realized what you were doing and just dashed off," he concluded.

_Impressive, I never really noticed any of this myself_, I thought. "Except," my voice started out big, "my favorite color recently changed to green. That's why the nail polish is almost all gone. And I'm only 15 because I have a late birthday in December," I smiled as though it were my win.

"Tu ché" Shinichi raised an eyebrow.

I pointed my index finger at him to imitate a gun. He gave me a puzzled look.

"You're a great detective, but be careful of whose business you get into," I leaned closer. "Your nose will get caught somewhere you don't want it. And trust me, I don't think you'll like the smell." He shoved away my hand, so I reached for the open sky, "Choose to breathe the free air!"

Shinichi appeared to be rather unamused, as though he's heard this speech somewhere before.

"There's that... Then there's those with a stench that breathe our free air. Would you still say that if thieves, murderers, and rapists ran free on the streets with no one to stop them? For every criminal there's a detective that must catch him." Shinichi smirked, seemingly pleased by his own words.

"...I guess you're right," I lightly smiled in defeat.

"Also," he gravitated closer, held me by the shoulder, and tilted up my chin up, "I would only be able to sleep soundly at night knowing you're safe, Keiko."

With a straight face I took his hands tightly into mine, "I would be safe, yes. But I would not be content with life if you were gone." We held up our pleading act a good second or two before doubling over laughing till our sides began to cramp.

But all jokes aside, we eventually arrived at my home. I led him in then waved a hand to point out Shinichi's belongings in the kitchen, "Here you go, kind sir."

He wrapped the jacket around his arm then put the cap on. "Thanks. So, is it normally this quiet?" Shinichi asked when he noticed silence scratching at the walls.

"My parents are at work, but my grandma should be in her room," I pointed upstairs. "My room is at the end of this hallway from the kitchen. And although I called dibs, my parents got the biggest bedroom in the house upstairs..."

Shinichi picked up a family photo of us. "Your parents look like nice people."

"...Yeah." A disheartened smile came over me. He spotted my expression and set the picture down.

Shinichi stepped through the door, pointing as he did so. "I'll be going then."

"Be careful," I said as he rounded the front gate.

"I will," Shinichi spoke as if contradicting me.

"Really?" I crossed my arms. "Ya know, my mom says that the spirit of a cat wanders the a block in this area."

His eyes narrowed, looking all the world like he had already heard enough of ghosts. "Oh?"

My talk of the supernatural seemed to fall on deaf ears, still I pushed, "it's true..."

"Then I'll be sure to catch it, and gift it to you." Shinichi leisurely fixed his hands behind his head.

I flinched. "Don't..."

Shinichi's hands dropped to my reaction as a look of intrigue appeared on his face. "You're scared of cats?"

"No," I scowled, yet somehow evoked a grin from him.

"See you tomorrow," he said and walked off.

"See you."

I closed the door and leaned against it, simply soaking up the moment. How right. He came into my life like a friend from another life. Yet... how odd. I could almost swear that I had met him somewhere before, but I'd remember... right?

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><p>A very special thank you to M.T. Pockets and Saia-chan for helping me with revisions.<p> 


	2. Pulling Closer

Mere minutes into lunch, Ran and Sonoko not only found my class, but also scooted two desks up to mine, and asked five rapid fire questions. Caught mid-chew, I could only blankly stare at the two.

"What?" I asked after swallowing. I quickly held up a hand before they spoke, "no wait. First; sorry about leaving like that yesterday."

"That's fine," Ran waved her hand as if to blow my offence away.

Sonoko leaned in on her elbows with a sudden burst of energy. "So, did you get down and dirty with Shinichi?"

Ran had to turn away to stifled a snort.

"How does-?! wha-!? No!" My face flushed.

Ran leaned in closer. "But you like him, right?"

"Yeah, he's nice and... well, who wouldn't?" My cheeks were still tingling. _How did we get into this personal stuff?_ I thought.

"Are you going to ask him out?" Sonoko asked.

"N-no! I'm simply saying that there's feelings. I don't wanna date or anything."

"You like someone?" Shinichi voice popped up from ahead. Our heads shot up to see him twisted around to face us, sitting at the desk in front of mine, eating a store bought bento. We all froze at the sight. Shinichi eyes opened a little wider and he blinked one... two... three times.

"I thought you knew I was here," he finally broke the silence, taking a bite of his food. Moments later our blank stares threw off a light-bulb in his head, and he stated, "I got here when Keiko said 'who wouldn't?' Should I not be listening?"

"Actually, we were talking about our crushes. Fancy anyone Shinichi?" Ran asked.

"Well~" he let his eyes wander to the ceiling, then the window, and back to us. "I—" the bell conveniently interrupted him. "Bye~!" Shinichi packed up and hurried out of the room.

"He waited for the bell... didn't he?" Ran grumbled, glaring at the spot he last occupied.

The lessons dragged on longer today. We went in depth into history on my second day of school. I couldn't keep track of the incoming stream of who conquered what and where. So, I gave up, and began to doodle. The teacher snapped at me once or twice for answering a question wrong on the board, but at least I didn't fall asleep.

After school Ran and Sonoko invited me to go out for ice cream. Thankfully they held normal conversations this time, and I was able to observe more of their personality's. Ran's sweet, while her best friend Sonoko isn't afraid to throw in an insult or two. Opposites attract, huh. We took a seat with our cones in hand, but my constant yawning eventually grabbed their attention.

"Was class that boring?" Ran asked.

"Yes, history," I groaned.

"It's torture, isn't it?" Sonoko readily agreed with me.

"Actually, I'm horrible at remembering it," I mumbled while biting into my vanilla cone.

"We could help you," Ran offered.

"Ha, second day of school and you're already doomed to flunk," Sonoko said.

Ran chuckled, but quickly halted. "It's alright to be behind, besides me and Sonoko both have trouble in math."

Sonoko went quiet, suddenly focusing on her ice cream.

"Then..." my eyes went skyward in thought, "how 'bout I help you two before math tests, and you two tutor me before history tests."

"Deal," we all tipped our ice cream cones toward the center of the round table to solidify a promise.

* * *

><p>The weeks went by dramatically fast while I nestled into my new life, and learned more of my friends lives. Here and there Ran invited me to her home at a Detective Agency, which is owned and operated by her father Kogoro. Sonoko flaunted her wealth by whisking us away several times to her many different summer homes. And Shinichi gave me permission to use his <em>enormous<em> library. Somewhere in this time I also met Shinichi's neighbor; Professor Agasa. He's an odd quirky inventor, but kind and very friendly.

"I'm going!" I shouted while rushing out the door.

"**Wait**, a second! Where are you going?" Mom flew around the corner from the living room. "It's late."

"I told you, it's a sleepover with my friends at Agasa's house, he's going to show us his new invention."

She pointed at the clock. "I didn't know you'd be going so late,"

"Don't worry, the professors number is on the fridge if you want to call." I said then dashed out.

She ran to the door, "Then you'd better pick up in five minutes!"

It's the first day of summer break. When school started for me it was three days into July, now it's finally August. Shinichi, Ran, and Sonoko all decided that we should collectively do something cool for each day of the break. So, tonight Agasa is unveiling his latest invention. We wanted to spice it up a bit and asked him if we could have a sleepover, and of course, he agreed.

When I made it to Agasa's, Sonoko swung me in by the arm and pushed me onto the couch. Ran blindfolded me. Somewhere in the background I heard a phone ring, shortly followed by Agasa's answering 'hello'.

"Now, we're playing _Smell It_ with Keiko going first!" Sonoko announced.

That sounded sketchy. "We what!?" I scrambled to get up until Ran sat across my lap.

"We decided that whoever walked in next would have to play this," Ran said apologetically.

"So, my guess is Shinichi hasn't arrived yet?" I asked.

"Hmph, the guy lives next door and he's late. Anyway, what's this?" Sonoko leaned in closer and held something to my nose.

"Is that a... clay vase...?" I forcibly frowned.

"Sonoko!" Ran scolded.

"What? I didn't prepare anything."

"I did!" Ran sang. She got up, so I tried to stand. That's when Sonoko fell on me.

"Ooof," I doubled over in pain. Elbow; that was definitely her elbow in my gut. "You guys need to be more gentle," I complained.

"Keiko!" Agasa called.

"Yes, Professor?" I answered.

"Your mother wishes to speak to you," he put the phone to my ear, and silently asked Sonoko about what we were doing with a concerned voice.

"Yeah, Mom?" I inquired. And it was the same thing as last time, always protocol, do's and do-not's, I already know. "I know, Mom." I exasperated with a sigh. Satisfied, Mom hung up, and Agasa left.

"Alright!" Ran announced. Then I heard a crumbling sound.

"Oh, that's perfect" Sonoko exclaimed.

"What's this smell?" Ran asked.

I inhaled the aroma. "Peanut butter?"

"Really?" Ran asked, then chewing noises filled the air, "Correct!" She clapped.

"What are you doing?" Shinichi's voice caught my attention. Sonoko rolled off me off, finally allowing me to stand.

"We're playing _Smell It,_" I informed him as he removed my blindfold.

"With Jelly Belly's," Ran jiggled a bag of candy, "wanna try?"

Before he had a chance to answer Agasa came bursting in full of enthusiasm.

"Shinichi! It's so good of you to finally arrive!" Agasa exclaimed. He urged us to into the lab with barely contained excitement.

"Now!" He began. We all huddled in for a glance at the veil Agasa held over his surprise. Then he yanked it into the air, and pushed his machine forth.

"A helmet?" Sonoko asked, disappointed.

"To the naked eye," Agasa had a mischievous glint in his eye. He attached it on my head and flipped a switch.

"What's it do?" Ran asked, nervously watching me.

"First it eases the subject by slowing their eye movement, and relaxing their muscles," I felt myself loosen up, and waver a bit. Seized with a sudden fear that I was losing control, I tried to keep my feet steady on the ground. Yet my vision blurred, couldn't think properly, couldn't stand...

* * *

><p>[Shinichi's POV]<p>

The contraption appeared to be untested, wires sticking out here and there, and the internal workings were visible; clear as day. Before I could voice my concerns though, Keiko lost her footing. She tumbled forward. Luckily I caught her.

"She's asleep!?" I exclaimed. Shaking Keiko awake only resulted in her head lolling into my upper arm.

"Don't fret," Agasa chuckled. "Her mind will return to its normal state, when the helmet is removed"

Sonoko pulled the helmet off and handed it over to Agasa.

"I call it, Bed Head," he grinned. We all involuntarily twitched, forcing smiles to hide how ridiculous we thought it was that he's still got a weakness for naming his inventions after clichés, like it's the best pun in the world.

A warmth grew on my arm, and I noticed Keiko beginning to drool.

"I'm going to go lay her on the couch." I scooped Keiko up then carried her back to the living room.

There wasn't much space, Keiko easily occupied the whole couch. So, I lifted her head, and allowed her to rest atop my lap. Looking at her now she appeared so serene, vulnerable. I can't believe she kicked me in the shin. Even the thought still struck a nerve, so I poked her cheek. Urging her to awaken, yet she only twitched. I smirked at the reaction, and pushed the skin of her cheek toward her eye, nose, then overlapped her mouth.

Keiko's head jerked to the left. She trembled slightly afterward, almost as though she were struggling. Meanwhile her eyebrows drew together, and her teeth clenched. Oh. A nightmare. I tapped her cheek in a first real effort to stir her, and her body jumped. Keiko's eyes flew open, nearly causing me to leap out of my skin. Her sights locked onto a spot near the television, like she had been expecting something different; something hostile. Then she slowly returned her attention to me. Keiko took a deep breath then released on a breathy, nervous laugh.

"Shinichi," Keiko greeted.

"Are you... okay?" I felt like my question should have been more detailed, yet couldn't think of anything better.

"Mm-hmm" Keiko hummed an answer. She sat up and looked around quizzically.

"You fell asleep," I stated, but she wasn't paying me any mind. I bent around her personal space to look her face-to-face. "The Professor's invention, the one he used on you, makes people doze off. He called it Bed Head."

She rolled her eyes, but a smile played at her lips. I gauged her reaction. Normally she would comment or say something by now. But... nonverbal, and her eyes kept darting around the room. She appeared to be strategizing, for what?

"Keiko what kind of dream were you having just now?" I asked softly.

Keiko flinched. Suddenly looking apprehensive; picking at her nails, as though she were conjuring up an excuse instead of an answer. Her hand found a throw pillow, she leaned back and hugged it. Lucky pillow.

"I don't..." Keiko's voice cracked the silence. "I don't remember."

"That's okay," I ran a hand down the back of my neck as I got up. _I didn't expect her to tell me anything anyway_, I thought. That's when she tugged my sleeve, pulling me back to the couch. _Or maybe she will_.

"There was this guy, Toreck Wendell," Keiko dug her fingers into the pillow, "have you heard of him?" She asked. I silently shook my head for a 'no'. "He's someone I met once... in America. The reason-"

"Keiko, Shinichi!" Ran addressed us as she entered the room with Agasa and Sonoko in tow.

"Good to see you're awake, and with no mental repercussions?" Agasa inquired.

"Why was that a question...?" Keiko replied, somehow looking relieved for their interruption. "Well... yes, I'm fine. I think... I hope."

I slouched into the couch, crossed my arms, and sighed. So close to unraveling the mystery surrounding Keiko, and her chance to talk is ruined. Still. An excitement shot through me at the thought of gaining another lead. Who is Toreck Wendell?


	3. Antics

[Keikos POV]

The next morning I woke to the usual early morning haze. Bleary eyed, I identified the bodies sprawled around mine in Agasa's living room floor. To my left was Shinichi, and his hair looked like a tornado hit in his sleep, yet somehow magically put him back in the same spot overnight. Not right. I ruffled his hair here and there, fixing it back into place while he soundly slept.

_What was that yesterday? I was so ready to compromise what I came here for and tell Shinichi everything. Well... he is a detective. Maybe he could help. But, I would be breaking a promise._ I sighed. _Our friendship, might be the reason we have to part_, I thought.

So lost in my mind, I failed to notice that Shinichi had awoken, and was staring straight at me.

"Ah—!" Shinichi intercepted my scream by hastily scrambling out of the covers to cup my mouth. I could feel a tear forming as he stared at me with nervous wide eyes.

"Don't get so surprised," he whispered. When he released me I took in a deep, deep breath.

"I didn't cover your nose," he laughed.

"My brain forgot to tell me that..."

He sat back and smiled, "There you go again, hugging a pillow."

"Huh?" I didn't even notice I'd grabbed it. After setting it down, a blush crept onto my face. He laughed again. So, I felt the need to defend myself, "it helps me organize my thoughts, like you and your soccer tricks."

He thought of the similarities, then waved a dismissive hand, "Nah."

"Yeah," I corrected. "The texture. Focusing on how it simply feels helps me achieve clarity."

"Does this go for everything you hug?" He asked with a small smirk.

"Never took other things into consideration."

"What about when you hug me?" he asked, seemingly nonchalant, the pink glow in his cheeks said otherwise.

"Um," I faltered and drew invisible patterns in the pillow to occupy my hands. "Hugging you is different." I drifted off into a daze of my own thoughts. "You're always so warm and inviting it's like I could forget to stand. But, with your arms around me, I really don't have to worry about it," I looked up and was hit with the full impact of how embarrassing those words were. Lucky for me, he went speechless. Still, I nearly ran when he outstretched his arms and pulled me in. I wiggled in his grip while my cheeks overheated, "wha—?"

"Sorry, impulse," Shinichi chuckled. I pulled away and turned around to cool my cheeks.

Then I noticed two empty spots in the bed. Ran and Sonoko were awake, holding each other in front of me, tugging at a handkerchief with their teeth the way they do when they watch their soap operas.

"Please," Ran begged, "go on."

I almost combusted into flames of humiliation. I whirled back to Shinichi, hoping for some sympathy since he was a victim as well. But he paid me no mind and flicked a thumbs up to Ran and Sonoko. I couldn't believe it. He knew they were watching the whole time.

Agasa walked in, rubbing his eyes, half-awake. "Whoever spilled the soda is going to have to clean it up," he said.

"Shinichi... blame Shinichi," I signaled him out, he scowled at me. "You don't have my sympathy, a little pity, but no sympathy."

He grumbled and left.

"What was that?! **What was that?!**" Ran squealed, her hair swishing back and forth as she squirmed in excitement.

"You're so deep," Sonoko dreamily stared into my eyes. I crawled away.

"Back off!" I waved the pillow as a barrier between us.

Regardless of my efforts, they took a pillow beating to come in on either side of me for a two person jail hug.

"Aw, Keiko's embarrassed!" Ran cuddled me.

"Never mind about that" Sonoko pulled me to my feet. "Now's the perfect chance! Tell him how you feel," She shoved me into the direction of Shinichi.

I quickly fell back, clung to Ran, and whimpered, "I can't, I have no backbone."

"No wonder," Ran tossed a Jelly Belly in my mouth, "your breath reeks."

I blinked. "That's a medical condition?"

"Condition schmission, get out there!" Sonoko practically threw me into the next room, "and don't worry about locking the door."

"We won't peek," Ran finished with a giggle.

From where I stood in the doorway Shinichi had his back to me. He was finishing up with the sticky mess on the floor. I bit my thumbnail, leaned against the wall, and searched for courage. Yet something tells me, from the way he vigorously scrubbed, that he was contemplating revenge.

I sunk into my thoughts, _Every good romance describes love as a jewel or the elusive butterfly. But it's not something that's simply beautiful or delicate. For me it seems like everyone's in a spotlight, and the people that decide to enter your personal light want to see if your act is one to follow. If they have no problem keeping with your pace, and you with theirs, then maybe that's where you're both suppose to be. Side by side, having fun on stage_. I sighed as I remembered Ran and Sonoko, constantly interfering. _Then there's the spectators..._

An explosion from the basement sent everyone rushing downstairs to the lab.

"Did you see that!?" Agasa, covered in black soot and burnt clothing, shouted in disbelief. "There was a contradiction in the chemicals which causing a violent reaction. Nearly blew the place sky high if it weren't for a spare neutralizing base compound!" Agasa exclaimed.

"Really?!" Sonoko drew in a sharp breath.

"What is it exactly that you were trying to accomplish?" Shinichi picked up a melted piece of junk metal.

Agasa composed himself, reached for a clipboard, and scribbled down his answer as he spoke, "This was a failed attempt to speed the process in which toast, toasts."

Shinichi dropped the toaster in disgust when he noticed the charred bits came off and blackened his hands. I watched him casually approach me through my peripherals, and knew he was planning to clean his hands on me somehow.

"AHH!" I suddenly yelled and pointed at Shinichi's face.

"What?!" he jumped. I kept my finger focused on one point of his face, eyebrows knitted together as I tried to convey my false concern over what wasn't there. Eventually my plan worked as he touched his forehead where I began rubbing mine. Everyone laughed when they saw he had put dark fingerprints against his own skin.

With a broad smile I dashed off as he saw past my evil scheme.

"Wha- wait!" Shinichi shouted as he chased after me. I made it all the way outside, in front of Shinichi's house next door, when he caught me. But by then I was giggling too much to care.

"Hah!" Shinichi was able to hold both my wrists in one hand, so he could proceeded to make my face his new canvas.

"A black eye, then a swirl here," he said as he created them with a grin.

I laughed despite my defeat. "Are you done yet?"

"Yeah," he chuckled.

"Hmm," I inspected Shinichi's dirtied face, "you're a mess."

"Say's the doodle pad," He smiled as if I called the kettle black.

Shinichi released me when he saw some letters poking out of his mailbox. He grinned at the sight, probably thinking it was some new fan mail. I frowned.

Shinichi pulled out several letters along with some odd boxes. Then handed them off to me in an attempt to keep them clean.

"Come on," Shinichi scooted me through the gate leading to his house. I followed him inside. "Make yourself at home," Shinichi shouted over his shoulder as he went deeper into his home.

The smell of his home always reminded me of a book store. I wandered into where the scent was strongest, his mystery sanctuary, and all its glory could still left me in awe. Book upon book, walls covered in them, and still some novels were left strewn about the library since there was no more space in the shelves. I dropped the letters at his desk, toward the end of the room, then sat in the cushioned chair behind it. The cushions drew me in, I sunk deeper, slouched in further, and lazily shut my eyes.

"What are you doing?" Shinichi walked in with a laugh. He threw me a wet towel to clean myself.

"Nothing," I immediately piped up.

"Ooh," he absentmindedly answered as he opened up his packages. While he was busy with the boxes I sorted through the letters. Five percent were fan letters for his father. The other thirty-seven were fan letters for him.

"So many girls, so little Shinichi," I sighed while sorting through them.

"You don't expect me to answer all those do you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you adored all the attention."

"Actually, I adore one attention," he scratched his neck, and focused on the package. I blushed. My mind couldn't take this kind of conversation without frying, so I changed the subject... But what to say?!

To my surprise Shinichi spoke for me, lifting the box through the air incredulously. "Why do you mail things to me when we see each other everyday?"

"Cause you get so excited, like a child receiving and opening presents on his birthday," I mimicked his voice, "_oh my, what could it be?_"

"Ha ha..." he feigned a laugh.

Shinichi tore the tape, and there it was. A grin was spreading across his face faster than he could get through the bubble rap.

I spoke as the voice in his head, "_What could it be, what could it be?_"

"Ah!" Shinichi gasped. "The last volume of Detective Samonji! I've been wanting this! Everywhere I went it was sold out. How did you know I didn't have it?!"

"Actually it was a lucky guess. From the books that you've been making me borrow. Your Detective Samonji set was incomplete."

He paused. "Wait _making_?"

I nodded. "The first chance you got, you threw Sherlock Holmes at me in hopes I would like it, mister mystery maniac."

"So... You don't like it?"

"Oh," I itched my upper arm nervously. "No... Actually, Sherlock grew on me, cause he would say cool things like, _mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius. _And then something funny like _There are always some crazy people about. It would be a dull world without them_. And-"

Shinichi laughed, "It's _lunatic's_ not _crazy people_."

"Anyway, my favorite was when Holmes was tailing that guy and he was like, _I followed you. _Then the guy said, _I saw no one. _And Holmes ended with, _That is what you may expect to see when I follow you. _I thought it was hilarious," I laughed.

Shinichi broke into a grin almost too wide for his face, "That was when he was following Dr. Leon Sterndale, he suspected him of murder, and he was right! It-" Shinichi paused. "Before I forget," Shinichi walked around his desk and opened a drawer beside me. "I thought you might like this," he handed me a giant rainbow swirl lollipop with a soccer ball keychain attached to the stick end of it.

"How old do I look?" I pointed to my face.

"Younger than me" he shrugged and put it into my hands.

"It's so cute," I pulled the keychain off and twirled it around my finger. Then I held up the loli, "and this is so rainbow!" I looked to Shinichi, face glowing, eyes sparkling. "I'll save it forever."

"Please eat it..." he scrubbed a hand over his face. "And about those mystery novels..."

"Yeah, sorry for not telling you... After reading something awesome like Sherlock Holmes, the novelty wore thin quick."

"But, the rest of them... you would talk like you read them," he wondered aloud.

"I looked up a shortened version online. But, ya know, I like to get the most out of mystery novels. I always start in the middle, so not only do I wonder how it'll end, I wonder how it began."

"You're joking right?"

"Hehe, yeah," I sheepishly admitted and slipped the keychain into my pocket.

"They're probably wondering where we went," Shinichi set the letters down and we headed out.

An indistinct conversation caught my attention. As Shinichi locked his door, I looked around and saw someone opening the front gate.

"Oh, Shin-chan!" a blond, curly-haired woman, skipped past me and heartily embraced Shinichi.

"A secret lover. I knew it," I whispered loud enough for Shinichi to hear.

Shinichi jumped at the accusation, "What?! This old lady is-!"

Said woman pinched his face at the words _old lady_. "who's this?" she asked as she looked me over from head to toe.

Caught off guard, I resorted to manners, and bowed while introducing myself, "Sachiko Keiko."

"Keiko, huh?" she smile slyly at Shinichi. "You never told us she's so cute." Then she squealed, "and for her to think I'm young enough to date you, she's a perfect choice."

"Choice for what?" Ran came around the gate, closely followed by Sonoko.

"We're having a celebration," an older man announced as he entered our circle, and stood by my side.

"Celebration? As in party? Count me in!" Sonoko joyfully cut in.

"Hmm? Shinichi," the man observed our attire, "what are you two doing in PJ's?"

Apparently Sonoko and Ran had already dressed, so we were the only ones dressed sloppy outside at the moment.

"Who are these people?" I quietly asked Shinichi.

Shinichi's pokerface faltered, "They're my parents..."

I recoiled a step back. "Your wha-... Yusaku Kudo? ...Yukiko Kudo?" I shakily pointed at the two new visitors, remembering a time when Shinichi spoke of his mom and dad.

"So, what do you say?" Mrs. Kudo cheerfully asked.

"Excuse me?" I managed to question.

"_I'll_ ask," Shinichi cut between his parents and me. He cleared his throat, opened his mouth, but couldn't seem to form words. Then his cheeks built up to a gentle shade of red when he finally mustered up the nerve to say, "would you please accompany me to the celebration?"

"Celebration?" I half-mindedly asked. My brain was still trying to wrap around the fact that those two older folks created him.

Mr. Kudo stepped in, "It's for my novel, _The Night Baron_, it's hitting a record high in sales!"

I shook my head, effectively snapping back to reality, "Sure, but I left all of my dress clothes at my old home..."

"No Problem!" Mrs. Kudo hooked my arm and dragged me off. "We're gonna have fun," she giggled.

I'm not exactly sure if I should have said something at that moment. Like _Hey, Mrs. Kudo, where are you taking me in my pajamas?_ So, for the lack of any excuse, I allowed her to do as she wished. Fortunately, Shinichi followed as well when we jumped in a car, pajamas and all.

When we got out, my worst fear came alive, indecent in public. We arrived at a clothing mall, and as expected, there were well dressed people all around. Shinichi didn't exactly care as some random fan girls would swoon over his garb. I tried to hide when people gave me questionable stares. Then Shinichi broke off from our group when Mrs. Kudo took me into a high-end dress shop and threw me into the first changing room she found. Soon after dresses came pouring in over the stall door.

* * *

><p>"When was that party again?" I asked while removing the twenty-third unfitting dress.<p>

"In two hours," she hummed carelessly to the store's tunes.

I stared, mouth agape, at the rest of the dresses that were still accumulating.

"Um, Mrs. Kudo?"

"Yees~" she sing-songed

"Why are you doing this?"

"Well, why not? For my little Shinichi to have a lovely girl like you by his side, it would help me feel better about leaving alone when I leave on business trips."

"But, I'm not so special..." I walked out this time wearing a sleek green dress, the skirt was covered in sparkles, and the long sleeves were made of sheer fabric.

She went around and fixed the ribbon on my back, "Not true. You're scared of cats."

I flinched, how was that a compliment? Wait, "how did you know that?"

"Shinichi rarely calls when we're away, but when he does," she chuckled. "You're all he really talks about."

"Um," the meaning of her words was beyond me.

"You don't know how to swim, but you love the water. You enjoy speed, but hate learning how to drive. Your tense when it rains, but calm on cloudy days." She smoothed out the bow, and forced me to twirl.

I blushed as she described me, it felt odd for someone I just met to know so much already.

"When Shinichi sees you, he sees all the little things that make you. From what I can tell, you're special," she softly smiled, "even if you are oblivious to it."

I straightened up and put my best smile on, "Th- thanks."

We decided then that the green dress suited me perfectly. Sometime after our purchase, Shinichi mysteriously reappeared. He didn't say where he went, but he was definitely up to something since every time I asked he smirked.

* * *

><p>Back at the Kudo residence we began preparing for the celebration. I heard from Ran that Sonoko ordered a limo, just to arrive in more style than her two-hundred dollar dress. As for Ran, she went off with Sonoko to choose a dress from home. Shinichi was already in his attire, combing his hair, and brushing his teeth.<p>

I wanted to ask about what his mother said. To see how true her words were. So, I chuckled to grab his attention, however what came out of my mouth was, "remember the last time you worse a suit? That time you got us in trouble?"

"That time we promised to never speak of again?" He watched me warily from the corner of his eye.

"Did you tell your parents about it?" I refrained a smile.

"There's no reason they should know."

"Uh-huh."

"It wasn't a bad thing," he defended.

"It was more amusing than anything."

"You said it wasn't! And when pointing out embarrassing stories, what about the time you nearly burned this house down? I'm sure they'd love to hear that."

"That was your fault," I reminded him, then laughed, "what about the time the Tokyo Spirits lost. You went up to the roof and—"

"Leave!" he slammed the door in my face.

"What was that?" Mrs. Kudo called from downstairs.

"Nothing!" I chirped.

When the limousine arrived we were all set. Hair fixed, nails done, and everything doubled checked. Triple checked for the girls.

I couldn't help but stare at Shinichi while remembering what Mrs. Kudo said. This is the same guy who said all that? It's hard to believe, even if he is a detective. The simple words sounded so sweet. I wanted to hear them with his voice.

"Keiko," Shinichi hesitantly smiled, "what?"

I snapped out of thought, "huh?"

"Is something on my face?"

I had been staring, so I had to say something. However, only a giggle bubbled up.

In context to our previous conversation, he took my response the wrong way, and snapped.

As fate would have it, this ensued a fight. It felt so childish, but I couldn't stop him or myself from bickering since the words I really wanted to say wouldn't come out. After it ended, Shinichi was upset, and I sulked in a pit of self-loathing for not speaking the simple truth.

* * *

><p>AN

Haha, yeah, I'm doing this...

Next Conan's Hint: Tubes


	4. Communication is Key Part One

Everyone had someone, swinging to the tango on the dancefloor. Sonoko and Ran even found a dance partner. But Shinichi otherwise occupied himself. Signing autographs for fans, and talking with important business men, whom I know nothing about.

Occasionally the question would arise, "could I have this dance?"

But I'd have to politely decline saying, "sorry, I have a date."

Although I say date, there I am, center table, alone.

News crews rolled in left and right. Interviewing guests, getting their opinions of _The Night Baron_.

_With so many eyes in the room, it's hard to relax..._ I thought as I slouched further into my chair. From a distance I caught a glimpse of Shinichi peeking over his shoulder to check me. However, he hastily averted his attention when we made eye contact. I stuck my tongue out at his turned back. _Even my parents are better company than— my parents!_ I jumped up, and rushed out of the room. _Crud, double crud, triple crud! Where's a phone?!_ I ran down the empty hallways.

"Excuse me!" a maid called from afar, "are you lost?"

"No. Well, yeah. Is there a phone I could use?"

She nodded and escorted me down a separate hallway to a luxurious master bedroom.

_This mansion must be someone's home,_ I thought as I dialed Mom's number.

An answer! "Mom!" I shouted.

To my dismay, she went off on a rant; 'where are you? Why didn't you call earlier? etcetera, etcetera…'

I sighed and explained my whole day with the Kudo's.

"I can't believe this," she exasperated, "I'm tired of constantly keeping tabs on you Keiko! When you get home, you're grounded! You hear me?!"

_Farewell summer vacation._ "Yes mom. I hear you…"

She hung up so I followed suit.

"Dear me, what a ruckus," the curtains around the master bed beside me slipped open.

"Someone's in here?" I yelled at the maid while pointing to the old man who emerged from the bed.

The maid struggled to maintain her professional appearance, shaking as she deeply bowed. "I'm terribly sorry, sir! I had no idea you were resting! I assumed you were out enjoying the evening with the guests."

"Please, Rita, it's all fine. I was planning to join the festivities after the media cooled down." He examined the clock. "It's around time for me to prepare anyway." He stood up.

Rita, the maid, kept her head down.

"And whom might you be?" he asked of me.

"Sachiko Keiko, sir." I couldn't help an eyebrow twitch, my nerves were still racked from the phone call. "Sorry, about this."

"Fine, it's fine." He patted my shoulders and turned to the maid, "Rita, could you fetch me my suit?"

"Y-yes sir!" She bowed twice more then scurried away.

He again faced me, "and if you don't mind Sachiko, could you hand me that cane?" he pointed to a black cane. The paint appeared to be peeling off of the sides to reveal a wood make.

After picking it up and putting it in his hands, I grinned, "you can call me Keiko."

"Oh," he warmly smiled, "then you may address me as Hiro."

"It's nice to meet you, Hiro," I waved while holding the doorknob to leave.

"Likewise," he waved in return.

I shut the door, making as little noise as possible. Then took off down the hall.

"STOP!" A yell froze me on the spot. The origin of this disturbance apparently a little old lady one door over from Hiro, "Rita? Rita! Where's my prescription?! My dinner?!"

I held a hand over my heart, the old lady seemed to be looking at me, yet yelling at someone else. However, upon closer inspection, no, she wasn't looking at anyone. Her eyes held the milky shade of a blind woman.

Before I could speak Rita rushed along with Hiro's suit in one hand, and a plate of food in the other. "Ple- please Mrs. Yamasaki, return to your room, there is a guest present," Rita pleaded.

From hearing alone the little old lady pinpointed Rita, and slapped her sharply across the face, "You don't **ever** think you can get off telling me what to do, it is a privilege to work here! Remember that!"

"S-sor- yes ma'am," Rita weakly stood, holding her deliveries. But that's the amazing thing. She had managed to compose herself, with nothing dropped throughout such a situation. Was this normal?

Rita escorted Mrs. Yamasaki back into the room then later exited without the food. She noticed me still there, sighed dishearteningly, bowed, and left.

_Poor girl._ my heart went out to her. Such a terrible person to work for, yet Rita somehow pulled through.

Upon returning to the party, it was easy to perceive time passing without me. Shinichi and his growing adoring audience. Ran and Sonoko now twirling with one another, joyful smiles all around. And an empty spot at the table, the sole thing awaiting my return.

Instead of facing that again, I found a nice calm spot against the wall in the hallway. The music echoed off the hollow walls for my listless ears; a smooth waltz muffled through the doorway.

_If I could just talk to him, I could straighten this out._ I slid down the wall to the floor, hugged my legs, then rested my head atop my knees. "I can't approach him, let alone talk."

"Guy problems?" A rather tall, middle-aged man asked. His voice chimed sweet and soft, similar to the way one would speak to a downhearted child.

I didn't feel like talking, or taking to this stranger, but I did want to vent, "that's complicated. He's just my friend if that's what you're assuming."

"I didn't mean to come off rude," he gingerly sat next to me, "just asking a heavy heart what's holding it down."

His sympathetic response had me at a loss for words, "Uh, well... me and my friend had a silly fight. But I figured it'd be best to wait until after the party to apologize, since he's surrounded by so many people," the longer I spoke, the further I slouched.

He held up a finger and swayed it disapprovingly left and right, like a metronome. "The worst thing to do would be to hold off such an important event for later. Take him by the hand and whisk him away if you must!"

I blushed, "No way! Besides what's so wrong with waiting?"

The man shrugged, and glanced down, seemingly recalling memories of his own. "If you wait to take a chance, there are things I know you'll miss out on."

I raised a brow. "What exactly am I missing?" It's not exactly the best feeling when someone I just met gives advice like they know me.

His eye met mine.

Then he explained it as simply as he possibly could, "Where are you, right now?"

"Sitting with you in a hallway."

"Where would you be in that room?"

I stuttered, "a- alone.."

"When you arrived here, what did you want to be doing?"

My head heated up, this man only piled on how pitiful I felt at the moment, "I wanted to be dancing with Shinichi..."

He pulled me to my feet, "then hurry up! I hate seeing a beautiful girl who chooses to hide away her wonder in this dreary hallway whilst a celebration is underway."

I gasped, and stopped at the doorway, "Then if I apologize, we'll dance? And the world will be right again. You make it sound so simple."

"It's the simplest things in life we doubt and take for granted," he exclaimed with a broad smile. "Think of the possibilities in _one _word, in _one_ action! _One_ is the infinite number that can change everything.

"Spoken like a true philosopher," I laughed. His joy felt contagious.

My spirits felt lighter, and my thoughts swirled with confidence. It was then that my last thought was, _what could ruin this?_ A scream from the separate hallway split my nerves and set my every little hair I had at attention just to answer that question. To whomever heard me; that was a rhetorical question, not a challenge!

Soon the Philosopher and I found the source of the scream; Rita who apparently fainted in front of Mrs. Yamasaki's room. I ran to check her when the Philosopher turned tail and ran. Befuddled by his reaction, I watched him cut the corner, carefully eyeing a spot near me as he left. I followed his line of sight to the inside of the doorway.

Cold dread crept through my veins. A snake. Its pair of icy emotionless eyes stared back at mine; a speechless creature whose stance spoke volumes. I tried to slowly stand, and not provoke it. Inching away, till a crease in the carpet caught my foot. I fell back. It hissed, and charged.

"Darn it!" I yelled, resorting to my voice as a last ditch effort to survive this encounter. "HELP!"

* * *

><p>As I ran my third lap around these lengthy hallways I realized several things; the first being, even though I've participated in Track since the age of six, this snake is some serious competition. Second, that stupid Philosopher abandoned me. And lastly, my 'darn it' proved to be useless.<p>

My fourth lap around, Shinichi appeared outside the party room. Happiness radiated from me at the sight, then I recalled our fight. Which cause glowering on my part. While reminiscing of our quarrel, I wondered why on earth I was running to him, then I remembered the snake.

Shinichi at last addressed me, "Keiko?" after watching my expression change five times within the span of ten seconds.

I skidded across the carpet to face the snake directly, running past now means the snake would go for Shinichi. Now isn't the time for carelessness. After looking around, I leapt up, and tore a curtain from its rods. Then readied it like a Torero. The snake went straight into it, and with a few quick hand movements, I had him tied up like a cat in a bag. Although, the adrenaline coursing through my veins dried up with the snake gone, and I collapsed backwards.

"Yo..." Shinichi knelt down, and flipped me around to face him, "that was a snake! Geez, don't you know that's dangerous?! And what exactly have you been doing when you should be—!" he halted, unspoken emotions written all over his face.

As he spoke I gulped in air to regain my breath. "Should be what?"

He refused to go on, so I swallowed my pride and decided to get the truth off my chest, "It's not the best time but, about earlier. Shinichi, I didn't mean to pick on you. It's that... I was staring 'cause your mom said you talked about me, in depth... It was a surprise. I don't think anyone in my life has ever noticed the things I do, like you do." I couldn't look at him directly since a spell of vulnerability overcame me whilst admitting such a thing. But of course, he would find some way to make me stare him square in the eye.

"You? Pick on me?" he teased.

I grinned apprehensively, "what's that suppose to mean?"

Shinichi laughed, "anyway... Keiko, knowing these small things you do is a knack from my job as a detective."

Mentally, I felt myself deflate at his answer. _Right. Of course._

Then his cheeks reddened as his went on, "b- but as your friend, I'm always eager to learn these details about you."

My face overheated from his flattery. I didn't ask for a different answer, but it was worth listening to. Yet...

Precisely then, the Philosopher returned and swiftly ruined our moment.

"Oh my my my," The Philosopher feigned surprise. "You captured the snake so efficiently, seems as though I wasn't needed," in his hand was a large net.

I sighed at him, "I'm not even gonna ask where—" my mouth clamped shut as I remembered, "Rita!" I leapt to my feet, and just as quickly collapsed; all my energy depleted.

"Keiko?" Shinichi, who failed to catch me, stood open armed and confused.

"I forgot, d-down the hall! There's the maid!" I jabbered on urgently until the Philosopher demanded that Shinichi follow him, and left.

"Keiko?" Minutes later, Ran appeared at the doorway.

She helped me to my feet, "h-hey, Ran," I greeted.

She flinched away upon noticing the squirming curtain-bag, "what's going on?"

"I'm not sure anymore..." I sighed, all this excitement had been stressing to my mind and body.

Ran bravely handed the bag to a waiter in the dancehall. He received it dutifully then disappeared into one of the back rooms as though this were routine.

Ran took my arm and slung it around her shoulder to aid me in hobbling over to the table. Then all of a sudden, the Philosopher ran in, ordering the workers to seal off any exit, and keep everyone inside. Instantaneously an outrage broke out amongst the _important folk_ who had places to be. Yelling ensued all around as I recounted to Ran what had happened to me from start to finish.

"I had no idea," Ran stammered. "I'm sorry, Sonoko and I were having so much fun, we never noticed you had to deal with all that," she glanced at Sonoko, who despite the ruckus, still enjoyed the entertainment this celebration had to offer.

"Ah," I held my heart like it had been struck, "so heartless, the two of you enjoying yourselves while I-" I dramatized away.

"Will it ever be possible for us to make it up to you?" Ran played along, acting just as serious as I was.

"Perhaps... a milkshake, and some lunch next Sunday can mend my wounded heart."

She laughed, "done and done!"

I giggled along with her.

The crowd died down, and settled into their seats, murmuring in groups of frustration.

"But," Ran snickered, "did Shinichi really say that?"

"Yeeaah," I drew out my response, wondering if I should change it.

Ran giggled contentedly.

"Don't tell Sonoko," I begged, "she'll pick on me."

Ran winked, "I won't."

"Won't what?" the Philosopher asked as he took the seat next to mine. He nonchalantly swiped a glass of wine from a passing waiter, and sipped until he realized we were glaring at him. "What?"

Ran brought her hand up to whisper into my ear, "is this the—?"

I nodded then addressed him, "You gave a good talk, but where was that wisdom when a snake appeared?"

"I didn't mean to abandon you," he replied in defense. "Fear can overtake ones thoughts, sorry I couldn't build up the courage to return till too late."

"Since we just met, I guess I'll let it slide... But only because I didn't get bit. However, if I were actually hurt, you would be taking all the blame right now."

"I'll accept that as leniency..." he recomposed his stature by tugging at his tux.

Suddenly the air went heavy as, with next to no warning, police poured into the dancehall and began to question the attendants.

"Where were you around eight o' clock?" a spiky haired officer, named Takagi, asked us.

"I was here, in the main room, they can confirm it," Ran pointed to Sonoko and the two men they danced with.

The Philosopher gripped his stomach with an abashed expression. "For most of my time here, I've occupied the restroom. Must have been all the weird food I ate."

"Can anyone confirm you were there?" Takagi questioned.

"No sir."

Takagi waved another officer over. "Escort him to the other suspects." The officer nodded, then took the Philosopher away.

"Suspects? What exactly happened?" Ran asked.

"I'm not allowed to disclose that information at the moment," he answered, then rounded expectantly on me.

"Uhm, I guess around that time I was making a phone call," I spoke from memory.

"May I see your call log to confirm this?"

"Actually, I used the home phone here. The maid, Rita, and the host, Hiro, should be able to confirm that."

Takagi's eyebrows jumped to his forehead. "Wait, did you use the phone in Hiro's bedroom?"

_Yikes, that was precise,_ I cringed, "y-yes, how did you know?"

He wouldn't answer, simply waved another officer over and gave me the same routine he gave the Philosopher.

"Where are we going?" I asked the officer escorting me. He also didn't answer.

When he led me down the separate hallway, I was taken aback by the number of forensics men scattered up and down the halls I had been running in not even an hour ago. Before I could recover from the surprise however, the officer sat me down in one of the far off rooms of the mansion, which resembled an office. Others were gathered here as well, all sitting in chairs that lined the left wall. A rather round man, called Inspector Megure, began taking my statement when I arrived.

An hour and a half passed when I managed to overhear that all the guests had been questioned. So, all the occupants here would be all they gather; first was the Philosopher, then Hiro, Rita, some old guy, and me.

Voices carrying from down the hall echoed into the room. The roar of dismayed murmurs from guests leaving the celebration could be heard as they left out the door. What followed; silence.

"Why are we here?" The old man growled once the silence became unbearable.

The officer guarding the door finally answered, "you are all suspects for the murder of Mayuri Yamasaki."

We collectively gasped.

"**Murder?!** Surely, you're joking! I would never commit such a foul act! Not to mention, the fact that I've never even met this _Mayuri_."

I dug my nails into the lining of my chair. _Murder, _I thought. _Someone was- no, Yamasaki. That blind old lady from before, she's... dead? I just saw her a few hours ago, yelling at Rita._

Rita herself looked as pale as a ghost. She clenched her teeth so tightly together that I was sure they would break. Then Hiro, he did no more than stare at the carpet. The old man, now silent, glared unseeing into the distance. Lastly, the philosopher sat back, arms crossed, as he gnawed at the inside of his lip. It all felt so surreal, like a dream. When did a simple party turn into something so complex?

"We've gathered the suspects in here— there's quite a few," Megure said from the other side of the door.

"Don't worry inspector, detective Kudo Shinichi is on the case," Shinichi replied, all good energy.

_Shinichi,_ my hopes sparked once again, yet I couldn't help but ridicule his ego. _Geez, 'detective Kudo Shinichi is on the case,' he sounds like such a show-off._

My heart skipped a beat as the door cracked open, here the silence ends and the story begins again. Shinichi took one step in, confidence clear in his stride. Then he laid his eyes upon me. I grinned and waved _hello_, like a spectator caught in the background of a news report.

Shinichi's poker-face immediately faltered. "**Keiko?!**"


	5. Communication is Key Part Two

The only good thing about being dragged into this whole scenario is that I learned all the officers names; all of Shinichi's comrades in crime-fighting. Which I still had a hard time taking Shinichi seriously in. A high schooler aiding the police force. What could he do that they can't?

Anyway, officer Chiba checked our alibi's. Then Inspector Megure went around introducing each of suspects to Shinichi; "this is Yamasaki Hiro, husband to the deceased, and the owner of this mansion. Around the time of the murder he claims to have been preparing for the party. This makes him the prime suspect, being one room away from the victim."

"Oh," Shinichi absentmindedly answered. To Hiro, Shinichi's stare must have felt piercing. I grinned nervously, knowing he wasn't looking at Hiro, but me though his peripherals.

Megure side-stepped toward the old man, "this is Yuri Nagagashi, a guest from the party, he says that he was, _star gazing in the courtyard_, but no one saw him to confirm this."

Then he scooted to Rita, "Moving on, Rita Yamasaki, daughter to Hiro and Mayuri. She acts as a maid to the household, and from what Mr. Yamasaki told us, she was busy with chores. Ms. Sachiko also confirmed this, but it's loose, at best, Rita still had opportunity. Not to mention, the snake in question," he flipped through the papers, "the Japanese Yamakagashi snake was her pet."

_Whaa— pet?_ _Who keeps those? _I internally shivered. _And Rita's the daughter of those two? They didn't seem like a family at all_.

Inspector Megure finally got to me, "next is Sachiko Keiko. She-"

"Inspector..." Shinichi interrupted. "No need."

Inspector Megure took in Shinichi's reaction, "you know her?"

"Oh, I know her..." he loomed in close, evoking a wide apologetic grin from me.

"Then lastly, Watanabe Tanaka, another guest from tonight's party. For most of the time he claims to have been in the restroom. We are unable to confirm this. However, some time before they discovered the body Ms. Sachiko confirmed that he accompanied her for a span of time." Megure closed the book he read from then pointed at the Philosopher, and me. "When we matched up alibi's, these two had lost track of time. So, we're fairly certain they have an alibi for each other if the stories they gave us are true."

"Should we clear them off of the suspect list then?" Chiba inquired.

"Not until the case is closed," Megure ended.

Takagi brought Shinichi up to speed about certain details of the case. When that ended, Shinichi dragged me off for a private conversation, "what were you thinking hanging around all the suspects!?"

I stomped, "It's not like I met those people on purpose. Besides, I don't know that guy," I signaled out Mr. Nagagashi.

"One guy, as opposed to all the other more suspicious suspects."

I chuckled, "suspicious suspects."

"What?"

"It rhymes."

He facepalmed, "just— come on. I need to investigate Hiro's room." Shinichi dragged me out through the halls.

Right as Hiro's bedroom came into sight, Shinichi swung his arm straight out, effectively bringing me to a halt. I gripped his sleeve, trying to move it out of the way to no avail. I had half a mind to chew him out for stopping like this, but at the sight of his solemn expression the words caught in my throat. I followed his line of vision to Mayuri's bedroom; directly ahead. Two forensics men to walk out, carrying something between them. The object appeared black, basically shaped like a human. As it should've been. A _body bag_. As soon as they were gone Shinichi proceeded forward. Only once his arm left my grasp did I realized how tightly I had been holding on.

Shinichi entered Hiro's room, so I followed. That was a body. A **dead** body. Seeing it before my eye's felt unreal. It's more feasible to understand that they're putting on a play. I can imagine when they leave behind the stage the actors get out of character, remove the make-up, then bow as we applauded their performance. But there's no stage. And this play's sick.

"Hey," I called for Shinichi's attention. "Let's go home. Let the cops deal with this."

He grinned mischievously, "scared?"

"H— ha!" I folded my arms, "nothing can spook me."

Despite my act, he soothingly stroked the top of my head, "sorry you had to see that." Then with a little more pep in his voice Shinichi asked, "better?"

I inwardly laughed, _All you did was pet me, like a puppy, now I'm just suppose to be okay?_ And, in all actuality, he did make things better. I grabbed his hand and held it with admiration in my eyes, "the magic touch."

Shinichi laughed, "I feel special." Then it was back to business. "Keiko, I brought you here to ask if you noticed any difference. Since you were in this room before the murder occurred, do you see anything out of place? I'm almost certain Hiro's the murderer, but I just can't place something."

I immediately fought his words, "how do you know Hiro's the murderer? I heard it was Rita's fascination to keep those poisonous snakes as pets. Or maybe Mayuri let the snake out on accident, and she couldn't run from it 'cause she's blind."

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." Shinichi quoted.

My shoulders fell. "...huh?"

"Put simply, don't blame someone without proof, my dear Watson," he winked.

"Who are you callin' Watson? Mister mystery maniac... Besides, what proof have you got?"

"In due time you'll see, Keiko. Now..." Shinichi tapped his foot impatiently.

I shrugged, defeated, and looked around Hiro's room. "Nothing seems different." I approached the phone, like before, then mentally recalled meeting Hiro. A piece of my memory seemed off, however I couldn't place it. "But why Hiro? What pegged him as the murder?"

Shinichi exhaled, then stated, "the workers had rumors floating about that Hiro and Mayuri were passing private letters through a hole between their rooms, I believe that's also how the snake entered Mayuri's room."

My brow raised suspiciously. "Where, per say, is this hole?"

"In his bathroom. In Mayuri's room however, it's in a closet."

We walked through Hiro's bedroom to the bathroom. "you mean this one?" I pointed to a hole about two inches wide, and fairly noticeable in the center of the wall.

"Yes."

I peaked through, only to see the dark inside of Hiro's wall, "this just looks like a hole in the wall... Not a peephole into Mayuri's closet."

"No, it is," Shinichi angled my head to see more right. "Look."

"Nothing."

"Turn more right."

_Oh._ Through the hole, to the far right, I could see a light shining into the hollow wall. "I see! It's so far though," I stuffed my hand through the hole, yet only my fingers could fit. "Somehow, I doubt Hiro fit his hands through this."

"My theory is that they attached the letters to the end of some wire, and passed it back and forth that way," Shinichi mumbled off toward the end, as if he were falling deeper into thought.

"Don't you think some letters would have dropped between the wall if they exchanged messages like that? Wouldn't the same happen to the snake?" Shinichi continually stared at the wall, obviously lost in his thoughts. I pouted. "Fine, don't listen. I was just giving my opinion."

His concentrated expression smoothed out as he apologized, "no, you're right. I thought the same thing." Then he trailed back off into mental concentration.

"Now that I think about it, why so secretive? Couldn't they just... you know... talk?"

"The rumors say that their relationship is sketchy at best, my guess is Mayuri refused to get closer than a few notes through the wall."

"Hoooold on! Now that think about it, Mayuri was blind. How was she reading?"

Shinichi opened his mouth, but was interrupted. His father walked in, all confident smiles, "they checked her medical records, she wasn't actually blind, just wearing contacts and putting on a façade for the world." Mr. Kudo smirked. "Hmm, love is strange. Don't you agree, Son?"

Shinichi seemed to feign ignorance on that, and changed the subject, "why are you here?"

"I came to aid in the investigation. But you appear to be doing fine without me. Right, Keiko?"

I nodded when Shinichi refused to answer.

Mr. Kudo hooked my arm. "Then we'll be going," Shinichi thought nothing of the scenario, and went back to his investigation.

"Ah-" I pulled away when he got past the door. "I wanna stay."

"You are aware there's a murderer afoot."

"It's not like I'm in danger. Besides, I wanna stay."

He grinned knowingly. "Then keep an eye on him, okay?" Mr. Kudo walked out the door, down the halls with long graceful strides, similar to Shinichi's. Although Shinichi denies it, the two really are a lot alike.

"Okay," I quietly answered.

Shinichi exited the bathroom. "Oh well," he shrugged, "Inspector!"

"Yes?" Inspector Megure answered, only just stepping through the door.

"Did you manage to get what I asked for?"

"Yes, I was also able to get an old buddy of mine to come down and handle him."

"Hey..." My voice quivered. "Handle who?"

Shinichi answered with a grin.

* * *

><p>Shinichi followed my nervous reactions with laughing eyes, "Keiko?"<p>

I sharply glared at him, "NO." At such an intense answer his expression saddened. My voice weakened at the sight, yet my answer remained, "...no."

They were conducting an experiment that would inevitably reveal the murderer. Thus, they gathered every suspect into the room to witness the mystery unveiled. Shinichi seemed intent on me watching his theory come to life, but I refused. A snake's involved. Not poisonous, but poisonous or not my nerves were still recovering from the last one, so I refused to get close.

Still, Shinichi didn't want me missing out, so beforehand he told me how it should all pan out. However, what should have happened, didn't. The experiment failed. The snake couldn't stretch from the hole in Hiro's bathroom to Mayuri's without bending down to the dark between of the wall. Even with a wire as guidance, the snake wouldn't slither across.

I clenched the doorframe, "now what?"

For a moment Shinichi sunk into surprise, his ruined theory apparently devastating. However he recovered with lightening speed, like a spark jump-starting his confidence, this failure inadvertently lit his spirits anew. "Interesting," he grinned.

My cheeks tingled at the turn in his mood. Maybe it's the suit he wore, but never before have I seen him so captivating. What's more is that looking wasn't enough, I soon found myself staring. The over-confident tilt in his grin, the glint of knowledge in his eyes, and the aura he emitted; challenge the impossible.

"Keiko," Takagi addressed me with a laugh, "you're, um, all red."

A few other men in uniform chuckled along with him.

_What's so funny?_ I thought. "Ya got a problem?!" My shout proved ineffective as their laughter increased. So, I retreated to Shinichi's side. "You got it yet?"

"No," Shinichi admitted despite his enthusiastic grin. No surprise there, Shinichi's greatest joy seems to be unraveling a tangled mystery such as this one.

"From your look, I can tell it won't be long. You've probably got the whole case laid out like a floor plan in your head. You can walk sideways, vertical, up, down, forward and backwards through the details." I cupped his arm reassuringly, "Keep walking, and I'll just have to hope you trip over a clue."

"I don't _trip_ over clues. I _find_ them." Shinichi must have felt the point wasn't getting across for he exaggerated, "—like a sleuth. Which I am."

"Like reading between the in-between of the lines," I airily commented. His eyebrows rose at my response, so I asked, "have I given you a clue?" At the same time though a clue occurred to me, I released Shinichi's arm, and focused on remembering what's been nagging at the back of my mind. I gasped, "H-Hiro! I know now. He had a cane. It seemed really old, and important to him. But now it's gone."

Shinichi noted my words, and absently repeated, "between the in-between." Then suddenly he jumped. "Inspector!"

My memory brought a break in the case, though I'm not exactly sure why. Shinichi put together an extensive search. That, in my opinion, went on longer then it should have. We found Hiro's cane under some loose tiles in his bathroom. After forensics investigated all it had to offer, Shinichi revealed that the cane could be opened. The ends of the cane twisted off revealing that the inside had been hollowed out, like a pipe.

"But the trick the murderer used assured that Mayuri would be the only one to open it," He twisted an end back on, "see this?" Shinichi pointed to little dots in the top.

"Yeah," Megure answered.

"It's air holes"

"For what?"

He had the handler slip the snake into the cane, and answered, "so it could breathe." Then he shut the cane completely and fit it through the wall.

"I see! That must be how they passed letters back and forth as well."

"But tonight it wasn't a letter she found." Chiba lamented.

Hiro growled, outraged, "you accuse me because of this? That doesn't mean anything. Where's your evidence, Detective? And don't say anything about fingerprints, mine should be all over it!"

Shinichi nodded. "And I'm sure there will be no trace of a snake as well since you cleaned it so thoroughly, but it's not your prints we're looking for."

Forensics came back with the confirmation that only Hiro's fingerprints were found upon it.

"Your extra precautions have you at a loss." Shinichi stated. "Keiko's fingerprints should have been present as well."

Hiro's eyes widened, and his jaw fell in the most dread filled manner. He faced me with such an expression, as though I were a judge sentencing him then and there to prison. I couldn't help but drawback at the accusations his eyes laid upon me.

He slouched forward dejectedly. "Very well. The fight is lost within me, Detective. I can only hope confessing will lighten my sentence." Hiro stood, back erect, and boldly said, "I killed my wife."

My breath caught at how easily the words left his lips.

"She was intolerable," he spat. "However, she was not always so. I remember a day, when we would address to one another sweet little letters of love. A pastime which soon blossomed into such an everyday thing, that I made this connection. Our secret." Hiro brushed his fingers against the wall which connected their rooms. "The shortest span of time after our marriage came and went, and we grew apart. She turned strange. Mayuri sought out the attentions of others in the oddest of ways. She manipulated the compassion of those around her, consumed their coos and wishes for good health like a rejuvenating fountain. This led her to fabricating illnesses, taking up medicine she had no use for. Even wearing contacts to appear blind. What's worse is that her friends and family all gathered like lost sheep to her pity party. And when Rita, our dear sweet daughter, turned ten, Mayuri forced her act as a maid to tend to her _ailments_. It pained me, but Rita refused to go against her own mother. Not long after, her medicine increased, and Mayuri could no longer be called sane. Rarely would she leave her bedroom. And the letters, our last sacred bond of a once burning love, become full of hate. I could no longer take it..."

A retort bursted angrily from my lips, "but that—!"

However Shinichi swiftly interrupted me, "if that is what led you to murder, who's to say who needed saving? Mayuri who desperately needed someone to guide her out of that spell. Or you who did nothing as she withered away and became a stranger. In the end, how could you conclude on ending her life? When so many answers were in plain sight."

Hiro said nothing. And Rita had bowed her head long ago, her quaking shoulders the only indication of how she felt as the cops took Hiro away.

The party simmered down to a dull roar for those who chose to stay. However, with the entire mansion closed off by the police, the orchestra, and all the party's attendants had moved to the courtyard.

* * *

><p>All the suspects, including Shinichi and I, were dismissed. We gathered in the courtyard, where I found a fancy wooden carved bench to sit at, and vent my tears.<p>

"Keiko," Shinichi scooched in next to me and offered a smile, "cheer up."

I swiped at my tears then responded, "you're so backwards, why smile after something like that? They only needed an intervention. No one even tried to fix anything. If they had only acted and spoke to one another instead of resorting to murder..."

Shinichi's expression transformed into an empathetic one. "I know. Why people even take murder into consideration is beyond me. But, what's done is done. It will do you no good to dwell on ideas like this, the sooner you put the memory away, the better."

"You're right." I managed to lift the corners of my mouth. "There's no use in talking about what we couldn't prevent."

Shinichi silently nodded then pulled me from my seat.

Only for Ran to tackle me back down, shouting, "Keiko!"

"Are you okay?" Sonoko asked.

"I'm fine," I blurted, their sudden appearance a surprise to me. "You?"

Sonoko fiddled nervously with the hem of her skirt. "We're fine, but you— I'm sorry! Ran told me what happened with the snake. It's our fault that—"

I shook my head. "Ran and I already went over this, you two owe me, remember?"

"Milkshakes?" She inquired with growing amusement.

"Milkshakes," I happily agreed.

Shinichi wandered out of earshot, and Sonoko took that opportunity to ask what was truly on her mind, "so what went down when I took my eyes off of you two?" Sonoko narrowed her eyes, snickering, "you two were at each others throat on the way over here. Now, not even five minutes ago, you and Shinichi were hip to hip."

"Nothing's happened." After a brief moment of consideration, I amended my statement, "nothing much. We made up."

Sonoko crossed her arms. "You two were gone for hours."

"There was a murder," I threw my hands out, "what do you think happened?"

"Something!" she shouted. "you don't get caught up in murder, and come out the best of friends! You two were practically hugging when we found you."

"That— hugging looks completely different!"

Ran chuckled, "that wasn't a good comeback."

Sonoko laughed, and added, "no one can have a good comeback when they're in denial."

My cheeks blazed with embarrassment, "go away!"

Almost as if on cue Ran's Dad drove up in a taxi. Yet, before they left and saved me from any further humiliation, the two teased me with kissy noises.

"Bye!" I yelled, hoping to immediately end their banter with my voice alone.

"Bye!" They waved and winked.

Shinichi returned, giving a quizzical look, "what was that about?"

"It's not important." I rubbed my temples, and rose to my feet. "Just forget everything you might have seen."

I dropped my hands, then noticed how Shinichi stuffed his into his pockets. A closed off stance. I waited, thinking maybe he had something to say, yet the silence stretched on for an uncomfortable amount of time.

Shinichi coughed, "Kei-Keiko. You, uhm... you—"

Oh, this was painfully awkward. He was awkward, This had to be stopped. So, I interrupted him with a laugh. "You, uhm—?" Then I continued his sentence for him in a tone I thought was similar to his, "_look astonishing, Keiko! The dress which you adorn is but a bin bag in the presence of your beauty."_

Shinichi's eyebrow twitched, annoyance settling into his features as he simply stated, "conceited."

I faltered. My performance acting as him was flawless, how dare he! "Hey—!"

Once more, Shinichi cleared his throat, "I suppose you would say this then, _Shinichi, you're dashing! Any living being in the world must feel ashamed in the presence of your awe inspiring, oh so handsome, looks_." He then struck a model pose.

I laughed, "and who's the conceited one?"

Shinichi grinned, bowing before me as he extending his hand to mine, "care for one last dance?"

I smiled and accepted his gesture. "I'd be honored." Allowing him to guide me into the rhythm of a gentle waltz. "But must it be our last?" I playfully teased. "I'd be sad to leave you tonight, only to remember you later as a handsome stranger."

"Hm." Shinichi mock-pouted. "And that's exactly what I was aiming for." He shrugged. "Fine. We'll dance anytime you want. Just promise not to leave like that again. When you disappeared tonight, I was afraid you went home upset."

A smile came over me. "I won't leave."

"...And..." His gaze went skyward. "You do look _okay_ in that dress. Sorry for not saying so earlier."

"It's okay." I ran my hand down the lapels of his suit. "You don't look half bad yourself."

A small chuckle escaped him at our obvious offhanded compliments. "Thanks."


	6. Hiring a Detective

To put it mildly; Mother's upset. With the fall of night during police investigations, and the fact that I chose to go to Agasa's for my things instead of straight home afterwards, I had no choice but to remain with the Kudo's until morning. With no other way to reprimand me, Mom gave me quite an earful over the phone for my actions, that somehow ended with my soda privileges revoked. Which is... surprisingly okay with me.

"Thank you for having me!" I chimed. Then deeply bowed to Shinichi's parents.

Shinichi draped his arms over my shoulders, a casual counterbalance to my formal behavior. "Mom, can we keep her?"

Mrs. Kudo giggled, "Of course we can keep her."

To which we cheerfully chorused, "yay~!"

Agasa, being the kind man he is, dropped off my items from the sleepover. Then it was time for bed. However I wasn't too sure about sleeping in the living room, where his parents could spot me drooling, and wanted to ask Shinichi if there was anywhere else I could sleep. But then there was the problem of getting him alone to ask, and not seem selfish in front of his parents.

"Shinichi," I called, "could you help me make my bed?"

"After three stays at my house, you're no longer a guest. Make it yourself."

I huffed as he disappeared into the halls. There goes my opportunity. As I spread covers over the couch I thought, _okay, so there's a slight chance they'll catch me drooling. Or snoring. Or whatever I do in my sleep. Just a chance._ But here's me thinking his parents would be sleeping in an entirely different room, when, in fact...

"Not to be rude..." I said once I mustered up the courage to speak after lights out, "but why are you two sleeping in the living room?"

"Since it wasn't maintained properly, the cooling system in our bedroom broke," Mrs. Kudo answered. They had snuggled up into the other two couches on either side of me. "And it's so hot."

"I hope you don't mind sharing the living room with us," Mr. Kudo added with a chuckle.

"No problem," I answered. Thankfully the dark hid my fear stricken expression. I sighed. Forget selflessness. "I'm gonna check on Shinichi." I gathered up my covers and pillow then left.

The halls leading to Shinichi's room were painstakingly quiet. My footsteps against the carpet could be heard, even while wearing socks. The only thing pushing me closer to Shinichi's room at that moment was the thought of the two living room crashers.

"Shinichi?" I whispered upon knocking at his door. "Shinichi, you awake?"

He opened it a crack. "What?"

I briskly slipped inside, shut the door, and asked, "can I sleep in your room?"

His eyebrows jumped to his forehead, he glanced between me and the door, and finally said, "you've never had a problem with the living room before."

"Your parents, um, I don't really feel comfortable sleeping in front of strangers... I mean, they're nice, I'm just... shy... I guess..."

Shinichi carded a hand through his hair to hide a smile. "Alright. Find a spot on the floor."

"Okay!" I eagerly flipped my covers out, onto the carpet beside his bed.

Shinichi stepped over me, into his own bed, and said, "goodnight."

"Night."

For a bout of insomnia I stared at the ceiling, reminiscing of the past, yet it proved difficult to stay focused when the wind created eerie moans against the window outside.

Suddenly, Shinichi peeked over his bedside at me. "Knew you'd still be awake," he grinned. "I wanted to give you this." He reached into the drawer of his bedside table then handed an item to me.

"A lanyard?" I held the object up to the moonlight. A visible sheen of glitter embedded in the green fabric illuminated beautifully with sparkles ranging in size throughout it, like stars in the night sky. "Wow, it's so pretty. Where'd you get it?"

"Guess."

"The place where you exchange items for currency?"

"Correct!"

"Hey," I laughed. "That didn't answer my question."

"In general it did," Shinichi smirked, "I bought it when you were choosing your dress," he spoke while leisurely falling back into bed. "I thought you would like something to keep your keychains on."

"Thank you." I slipped the gift under my pillow.

Silence nestled into the atmosphere once more— aside from the howling wind. Yet this time my eyelids felt heavy. Breathing even. Thoughts calming...

"Keiko?" Shinichi's voice tugged me back from the pull of dreams.

"Hm?"

"Why won't your parents allow you to go outside at night? " Once the question passed his lips I froze. His casual tone on such a serious topic threw me.

The excuses piled in my mind, and before I knew it the words were spilling from my mouth, "there's tons of malicious junk that goes on at night. You know better than anyone."

Shinichi continued as if I hadn't spoke, "when we met, you were in a hurry. On the run. At the time I said I wouldn't pry for information, but now I've been noticing more of those odd pursuers on the streets at night. Nothing I've seen adds up to anything good. What are you hiding, Keiko?"

The curiosity of a detective is not one to be trifled with. I nearly smirked at the thought. He was bound to ask eventually, although it's still a shock that he did. I sat up, remembering a promise that would be broken if I spoke. Yet something of the moment felt right for a confession. There's something so open about sharing a room in the dark that invites the sharing of secrets. It's how Ran and Sonoko got me to confide even the most embarrassing stories in them.

"Tonight," I said instead. "You were amazing. I'm surprised you noticed, and deduced, the things you did."

"It's nothing." Shinichi replied in a bashful voice. "I've done it before. Just simple reasoning."

"It is simple to you, isn't it?" I chuckled. "It's simple to Sherlock Holmes too. Like second nature. You've got a gift for noticing what others miss. And that, to me, is beautiful."

By that point Shinichi had shied away into a modest silence. The fact that he could still be so skilled, and modest in the face of praise, urged me to continue.

"It is truly stunning. However, whatever you notice of me, from now on, I want you to dismiss."

Shinichi shot up. "Why?"

"Promise," I told him.

In the dark, even though we could not clearly see one another, we stared each others silhouettes down with wavering thoughts.

Until he finally conceded, "I promise to try."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. In that moment my elation matched my devastation. On one hand, I finally have someone who would understand the life I'm living, while on the other there's a chance he'll never treat me the same again.

I exhaled with trembling words, "I swear, I only had the best intentions..." With a strengthening grip, my hold of the covers provided some form of support. "Um, I guess you need a bit of backstory to even understand the big thing. That would be about three years ago; before I moved from Japan to America." I bit my lip, entirely too self-conscious of Shinichi lingering in the bed above. "My parents always got the wrong end of the rope when it came to wages. No promotions. No privileges. One dead end job after another. It was wearing them down. To them, the escape from this cycle meant owning their own business. Stop working for someone else. So, they saved up money to do what they wanted. To travel. See new places... That's how they met Toreck Wendell."

Wendell.

Even now his image in my mind was not that of a bad guy. A balding man with inviting smiles. A man always wearing black, who inevitably lead us down a dark path.

"You mentioned his name before," Shinichi said after I paused. "I did a bit of research. He's a real estate agent. Mostly deals in finding land for pharmaceutical plants and laboratory testing facilities."

"Y- yeah." I cleared my throat, picking up where I left off. "Wendell offered my parents land in America, in Oregon. Entirely too eager, we moved immediately. But as time went by, the cost of supplies became increasingly more expensive to acquire. They couldn't afford to finish building our dream business, let alone the land we were building it on. Soon after, hotels refused to accept our debt ridden credit cards. My parents were forced to find work, but everywhere they went no one would take their applications. It was humiliating. The only one I could think to turn to at that point was Wendell. I begged him to help my parents, and he offered me a job. Apparently Wendell had a side operation right there in Oregon. Owned and operated by a doctor. When I got there... The truth of Wendells dealings threw me. Because this doctor had a whole string of professional colleagues who would obtain drugs legally only to resell them on the black market."

"Organised crime..." Shinichi uttered apprehensively.

I nodded. "The job they gave me was simple enough. I was a... delivery girl of sorts. It was easy for me to slip past police notice to drop off any goods. Payment for the goods was done beforehand, so I never had to worry about getting robbed by the client. Then I remember my first payday." I hesitated. "I thought my parents would be ecstatic for the money I earned, nevermind the method to getting it, but they wanted to know how it got into my hands. Once I told them, they refused it. Ordered me to return it. I'd never seen them so upset. They kept repeating over and over that they raised me better than that."

"Keiko..."Shinichi mumbled sympathetically when my voice cracked.

"How could I give the money back?" Knee deep in memories, I could feel hysteria of the situation grabbing hold of me once more. "I mean... what would I say? These people were terrifying. I've heard others, way more important than me, were _murdered_ for even _thinking_ about quitting. I never imagined..." I scrubbed my hands over my eyes. "So, I turned myself in. Walked right into the police station and dropped the money I earned on the front desk. After that, I don't know what I expected to happen, but everything got a ton more complicated. Not even ten minutes into interrogations, the FBI took over my case. I'd never even heard of the FBI, but they worked fast. Not even a few hours later, they stormed that doctor's place of operation. Everyone involved went behind bars that day."

"Isn't that's good?" Shinichi questioned upon hearing my dire tone of voice.

I shook my head. "It's not just that. Toreck contacted us that night, or at least I think it was him. The person used a masked voice; said we should consider ourselves dead."

Shinichi pitched forward, now with his feet hanging over the edge to face me directly. By now my eyes had adjusted to the dark, and I could see the distress in his expression.

"Though they gave incredible efforts, the FBI never found him. He's more than likely in hiding. But with the death threat looming over our heads, the FBI rushed us into Witness Protection."

Shinichi gasped, "the reason you're here—?"

"No." I interrupted, playfully shrugging to lighten the mood. "I volunteered to fix this whole mess. They stationed me back in Japan as bait to lure Wendell out of hiding. Those people in my house aren't even my real parents, they're bodyguards. However, that old lady living with us is my Grandma. She moved from our original home in Osaka to support my decision."

"So, your real parents are in Witness Protection?"

My face fell as I nodded. "To answer your original question. Wendell's organisation reaches far. There's no flaws we can take advantage of. As you may have guessed, this gives him the confidence to have a calling card. Any crimes his subordinates commit, they commit after sundown. Another example would be, specifically with murders, they cut a "V" out of the top of ones ear; out of the helix. It symbolises the bite of a crow, as if to say the carrion birds have already made a meal out of the victims body. With a lighter voice I then said, "although, even when I'm not home, I shouldn't worry. There's FBI tails on me at all times; bodyguards. Even now, one's more than likely hiding outside your home for me."

Shinichi perched a hand thoughtfully against his chin. "As for your parents, I knew something was off. Your "mother" has a widows peak. That trait is always passed on to the child from their parents, however you don't have one. But the bodyguards who constantly tail you... I never would have guessed..." He crossed his arms, a determined look in his eye as he said, "Keiko, there's too many variables, too many risks. Join your parents in hiding. Allow the FBI to deal with Wendell."

I smirked, remembering his earlier tease to a similar situation, "Scared?"

"Of course." His honest response startled me. "This Wendell guy is more than likely waiting for an opportunity to present itself. You can't just sit back and wait for him to make a move."

"We're not waiting," I retaliated. "We're searching for signs. Those pursuers you see at night are men Wendell's hired to find me. We've caught so many of them before, but they never talk, some have even gone so far as to commit suicide. With such faithful followers, I can't have this guy roaming free! What if he finds my parents?!" My words caught. Emotions welling in my throat urged me to cease talking. But biting back a need to cry, I continued in a trembling voice, "I'm scared. I know I'm in danger. However, this is better than simply waiting in Protection while the FBI tries to hunt him down."

I awaited his response, yet was scared there was none. Until he huffed, "fine, it's your decision, but you have to let me help. Tell me know what intel the FBI has, maybe I can draw conclusions as to—"

"I made a promise." I confessed. "My parents and the FBI ordered me not involve anyone else or they'll force me into Protection for endangering civilians. You shouldn't do anything, okay?"

"So... I shouldn't?" Shinichi grinned. "But that doesn't mean I wouldn't."

I shook my head in defeat, "I guess I can't stop you there."

With Shinichi so eager to help, the promise I made felt so insignificant. Because he **can** help. Besides it's not breaking the promise is he's not a civilian, right? He's a detective. So, awake in bed, I relayed every bit of information I could recall to Shinichi. Although he gave no opinions, Shinichi questioned for even the tiniest details. It was strange, yet exciting. Hiring a private detective, who just so happens to be my friend. After witnessing his skill though, I had a feeling this was no mistake. With Shinichi on the case we'll track down Wendell in no time.

* * *

><p>The morning came, and with it, a feeling of refresh... or something... What actually awoke me was so peculiar, I thanked my lucky stars for being a light sleeper.<p>

"What are you doing?" I asked Mrs. Kudo, who towered over me, onto Shinichi's bed.

She flinched, a sure sign of guilt, then grinned down at me. "Nothing important. Ah," she smiled uneasily, "right. I came to tell you: breakfast's ready." And with that, she left.

Shinichi yawned soon after. Then the oddest thing occurred; we looked at one another, gave puzzled looks, then pointed at the other's face.

"Why are you wearing lipstick?" he questioned while I stated, "you've got a kiss mark."

"Eh?" We chirped simultaneously.

Using his cover he wiped his cheek clean, as I touched my lips. We found the lipstick, but why is it there?

"I think your mother did something." I glanced at the door. "She was here when I woke up."

"Then you didn't—?" Shinichi cut himself off. Only then did I notice how his cheeks were flushed red.

"Didn't what?"

He scoffed, then stormed out of bed. I tailed him to the kitchen where he shouted, "if you're going to play pranks, don't involve me!"

His mother giggled, "but then, what would be the point?"

The meal laid out before us nearly took my breath away. Real breakfast foods; eggs, bacon, pancakes, juice, the works! Each place at the table had been prepared ahead of time, like a normal family meal.

"Wooow!" My mouth watered. Yet, I hesitated. "Is it okay for me to take a spot at the table?"

They blinked, then ever-so-kindly Mrs. Kudo guided me to a chair. "Of course! You're a guest, eat as much as you want."

Mr. Kudo disarmingly smiled. "Why would you think we wouldn't prepare a meal for you?"

"Oh." My heart sped-up as I admitted, "it's been so long since I've actually had a proper meal like this; everyone in the home sitting for a family breakfast. Mostly, my parents are usually in a rush, so I get leftovers or some quick toast in the morning. You two have been gone for so long too. It's a special moment, ya know, I don't want to intrude."

He smiled warmly. "You're welcome to have a meal with us anytime, Keiko."

My heart swelled at his invitation. "Thank you very much!"

At that moment a look of contemplation overcame him, then with the kindest of smiles, he asked, "is it alright if I use you as a muse for the victim in my next novel?"

"V- victim?" my eyes widened. "...Yeah. Sure. I-if ya want."

He nodded gratefully. Although, _why a victim? And more importantly, a victim of what? Fraud? Theft? Injury? Mr. Kudo writes mystery novels. I never asked what kind... but seeing as Shinichi knows so much about murder..._ I sidelong glanced at said person, then hastily returned to my eggs. _Best not to ask..._

With small talks sprinkled here and there, breakfast ended on a happy note. I thanked them for the food, then dashed up to Shinichi's room.

A few minutes later, Shinichi knocked at the door. "Are you changing in my room?"

"Yeah," I half-mindedly answered whilst fiddling with my skirt. Once in place, I did a small twirl, and inadvertently stepped on something squishy. The unexpected texture felt gross and unnatural. I couldn't help but scream.

The door flew open. Shinichi urgently shouted, "what—?!"

I tossed my shirt at Shinichi's face, yelling, "not decent!" The clothing draped over his head. After he retreated backwards out the door I picked up the item which startled me. A small foam toy shaped like the world. "Is this a dog toy?"

"Oh, the ball shaped like the Earth? Actually it's a stress reliever. I got it as a gift last year." Shinichi answered. A beat of silence later, he asked, "do you want your shirt back?"

I snaked my hand out the door. "Yes..."

* * *

><p>On our way out the front gate, Shinichi snuck around the corner, then signaled for me to walk over as if saying 'the coast is clear'.<p>

"Acting like Mission Impossible," I raised an eyebrow. "They come out at night remember?"

He rolled his eyes. "I know."

I laughed, yet soon bit my tongue when a camera flashed. A man in shades greeted Shinichi with a camera in hand. All smiles as he inquired the details of last nights murder. Shinichi listed off the main points, as if he prepared for the question ahead of time, then boldly stated that the case proved to be incredibly simple. Once the man left I glared at Shinichi. What happened to his humble attitude?

"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat your door down."

Shinichi smirked. "I guess you're talking about me?"

"Don't you think it would be better to stay aloof. Out of the public eye? Unless absolutely necessary, because eventually people will come to rely on you to discover all the answers for them... like..." My voice trailed off as the idea arose in my mind; _like Holmes_.

"And why shouldn't they?" He laughed through his nose, excitement building. "I'll solve them all! Even yours. There's not a mystery in the world I can't unravel."

"But that's the exact thinking that'll get you in trouble!"

He innocently peered down at me. "What trouble?"

My shoulders fell. It's true. His feet haven't tracked mud like mine. "I guess you've got a point."

Home slowly came into view, and while I dreaded the thought of staying cooped up again, something else bugged me more.

"Hey, Shinichi," I said, grabbing his attention. "Even though you're helping, please, if you feel like you're in the slightest bit of danger, drop this investigation."

His expression turned solemn. "I can't promise that..."

"At least consider it then? If it ever comes to that... please?"

He shrugged. "Alright."

"Thank you." I pitched forward and pecked his on the cheek. Remembering all too late that I still wore lipstick. The pink evidence all glossy in the shape of my lips against his cheeks. I blushed at the sight, and quickly scurried home.

Once inside, I braced myself for a lecture of the century. However, the only one home to greet me was Grandma.

"Keiko!" Grandma joyfully embraced me, then not-so-subtly, sniffed my clothing, "You smell like man."

"Nice to see you too Grandma..."

* * *

><p>[Meanwhile]<p>

"Ara!" Yukiko giggled into her palm. "Shin-chan, where'd that kiss mark come from?"

Shinichi's stomach dropped. "Eh?" One look in the mirror confirmed that, yes, Keiko's kiss could not be more obvious. Bright pink, small lips imprinted on his now reddening cheek, and even Yusaku couldn't hold in a laugh. "Geez," Shinichi growled, "why can't you two mind your own business?!"


	7. Tag

October. Cooler weather. Subdued colors. Something about the season of fall evokes a sense of stillness. Birds migrating, and trees entering hibernation. Almost like a spirit parting from the world. Everywhere the eye lands is still, aside from the biting wind which gives the illusion of life by stirring leaves which are already dead. _The calm before the snowstorms_, as Father used to say.

So much time has passed, yet I've heard no word from Shinichi on the case. Sparks of doubt plague me during our moments together. Is he really investigating Toreck Wendell as he said he would? Although, I'm in no place to question whether he is or not. It's my problem, and if he wishes to stand clear, by all means I should encourage his silence on the matter. But then... it brings back a feeling of isolation. That I'm alone in this matter. I guess by allowing Shinichi to work on the case, a purpose came alive in me once more; that I'm helping the FBI get one step closer to Wendell. But actually I'm doing what I've always done since we first moved here. Wait. Sit and wait for Wendell as good bait should. It's more frustrating than it sounds. Living life day to day for months, always expecting something drastic to harm me in some way. Yet it never happens! It's psychological warfare, and I'm afraid I'm slowly losing.

Shinichi stepped into my room Monday morning, asking, "Ready?"

"Almost!" I went from one drawer to another. Opening, searching, and closing.

"You're going to make us late again."

"You say that everyday," I commented over my shoulder.

He crossed his arms. "Because we're late everyday."

"Are not."

"I think my last two detentions speak for themselves."

Then finally I spotted it. "Got it!" The green lanyard fit comfortably around my neck. Adorned at the end is the soccer ball keychain Shinichi gifted me.

Shinichi rolled his eyes in good humor, the slightest blush at his cheeks. I snatched his hand and whisked him out the door, shouting, "time?!"

He checked his watch. "It's gonna be close if not at all. Five minutes till school starts."

Of all the times in the world, that time we arrived on the dot. Or at least Shinichi did. I forgot to change my shoes at the entrance, and blundered in seconds after the bell. Unfortunately, the first course of the day happened to be History.

The teacher implored the class with a sparkle in his eye, "to start, can anyone name samurai from the Medieval Period?" A medley of answers sang through the air, however after the teacher sang them a good some of praises for their contributions, he asked, "any others? Sachiko!"

"Was my hand raised?" I murmured, wryly gaping at my palm until some plausible answer popped into my head. "Momotarō?"

"Momotarō...?" He almost seemed offended. A good indicator of how off that was... "Your mind is in folklore. Get out of there."

The class boomed with laughter. A cringeworthy situation to get caught in. Why's that so funny? I propped my textbook up, and laid my head behind it.

Not soon enough, the lunch bell rang to save me. Ran, Sonoko, and Shinichi gathered at our usual spot in the hall, on the steps, where we eat together.

"I witnessed a confession yesterday," Ran announced, "It was so cute!" Then her eyebrows drew together. "But they were also so fidgety. I almost left, it was so awkward to just watch them, I can't imagine how they felt themselves." She sighed. "Nothing like the beautiful confession from that romance on the television last night..."

I narrowed my eyes. "Those shows you and Sonoko watch are so unrealistic... No one confesses like;" I swayed against Shinichi's chest, peered up at him with pleading eyes, and with the sweetest voice said, "please. Let's run away together, because all I need from this world is you."

Shinichi blinked at my display.

I sat up and flopped my hand out, palm up, to call attention to his expression. "See. Normal human react—"

Shinichi's hand fell into mine. He pulled me close, then tilted my head up, and dropped an octave to say, "I couldn't agree more. Eloping with you is something I've dreamed of since the day we met."

I glared at him. "You're not helping..."

Ran clasped her hands together. "You two are so cute."

That got me to yank my hand away. Feeling embarrassed, I scarfed down food for a distraction. "Ran, you have a weird definition of _cute_..."

Ran's smile widened. "The way you two can set up a scene, acting on-the-spot, it's like you're reading each other's mind. Being silly with someone like it's normal is cute to me."

I continually munched my food. _That's true, but it would be too mortifying to agree to in front of him..._ I glanced at Shinichi, only to catch him looking away. I paused. _What?_

A hand crept into my bag of chips. I caught it by the wrist and found the culprit to be Sonoko.

"Want some?" I asked rhetorically, seeing as she already had a few in a vice.

Without hesitation her other hand came round. "Yep!"

"Whoa, whoa!" I raised the bag out of reach once she had handfuls. "That's the whole bag!"

She nibbled the bunch she procured, leering as she did. "I think you owe me."

"What's this about?" Shinichi pipped in.

I rolled my eyes. "She's probably still upset that I covered her room in silly string."

"Trespassing, littering, disorderly conduct, and criminal mischief," Sonoko scoffed. "Your lucky I'm not pressing charges."

"With what proof?"

Sonoko tugged Shinichi into the fray. "He'll find it for me!"

Shinichi released a small _eh?_ As his eyes darted between us.

I slammed my chopsticks down, "Yeah, right! Shinichi's on my side!"

"I've known him way longer than you!"

"Time and trust are two different things entirely, and I trust him way more than you!"

Shinichi nervously scratched at his cheek. "I'd rather not be in the middle of... whatever this is..."

The warning bell chimed then and there. I stared at my partially eaten lunch in dismay as everyone dispersed. Class picked up shortly after, and what's usually three more hours of school felt like a lifetime with hunger pangs eating away at my patience.

Once we were dismissed the Class Representative announced to those filing out the door, "don't forget! Starting tomorrow we'll be collaborating with class 2-B for the Cultural Festival that's next week!"

"Cultural Festival?" My ears perked at the words. "Class 2-B?" _That's Shinichi's class!_

I dashed all the way to the lockers, shouting upon spotting them, "Did you hear about—"

"The Cultural Festival?" Shinichi interrupted.

"Yeah! And—"

"Class 2-B is collaborating with 2-A!" Ran broke in with mock-enthusiasm.

Sonoko rolled her eyes, "and you wanted to tell us how excited you were about it."

I nodded vigorously, glad they understood.

* * *

><p>Seeing as Sonoko's home is opposite to ours, she said her goodbyes to us at the front gates. Leaving Ran and Shinichi to accompany me on our journey home.<p>

"Why are our classes working together?" I asked.

"Our Class Representatives decided that since the majority of students in 2-A and 2-B have their own clubs to attend to, that they would take what's left of the classes and work together on one big attraction," Ran said.

"So you're going to be working to promote the Karate Club... ya know, I've been wanting to join the Track Team myself. Seems I always forget to sign up though."

"Never too late for that." Ran's gaze went skyward in thought. "I've never met anyone who enjoys running like you do though, why is that?"

I apprehensively admitted, "Runners High."

"Huh?"

"After a vigorous run some people get the feeling of being on top of the world." Shinichi explained. "It's commonly associated with endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, which are released by the brain in reaction to the body being put under stress. Like when an athletes run for extended periods of time."

"Know it all," I remarked. "You actually know it all."

"He just knows a lot of useless facts," Ran assured me.

"It's not useless," Shinichi defended, crossing his arms. "Came in handy here, didn't it?"

Once we got to Ran's stop, and waved her goodbye, Shinichi decided we should spend some time at my home. Mostly, he appeared to be interested in the lemon pie I baked last night, but I'm not complaining. Afterall, it's not everyday a willing taste tester steps through the door.

"I'm home!" I called, and realized a bit late that my announcement interrupted some enthusiastic conversation in the living room between Mom, Dad, and... someone else.

"I'm here too," Shinichi added. However, I had been trying to puzzle out who would be visiting. He wouldn't turn around, and the back of his head was rather... generic and brown. Anyway, my parents don't have friends. Well, none that I know of.

"Welcome home, Keiko." Mom responded. "And Shinichi, make yourself at home."

Once we were in the kitchen I strained my ears to hear their conversation, while Shinichi helped himself to the lemon dessert on the counter.

"From the look on your face, you obviously don't know who he is." Shinichi commented, with a generous slice of pie in his hand. "Got an idea?"

"Maybe a business associate?" I scratched the back of my head. "No choice but to ask I guess."

Foot first, I slid round the corner, intently watching the back of the mans' head. Surely Mom and Dad wouldn't call in extra security. If that's what he is though, what happened? What would call for more protection? A break in the case? A new lead? Some prepo— Suddenly they boomed with laughter, specifically Dad's boisterous guffaw, that propelled me all the way to the back wall.

Eventually Dad calmed enough to acknowledge my presence, "Keiko." He took a deep breath then waved me closer. "Say hello! This is our neighbor. Such a kind young man, he was there right in the nick of time." Dad heartily reached a hand round, and shook the man by the shoulder. "Really incredible, he knew the exact problem our car had earlier."

When it comes to remembering a face, I'm never the reliable one. However, with him in my house, I took it upon myself to at least try. The man had soft blue eyes, sun-bleached brown hair, flat eyebrows that rested just above his eyes, and the most disarming smile. I found myself staring. Something of him seemed familiar...

"Haven't we met?" the man's question sent my heart to my throat.

"Wh—" I caught my breath. "What?"

"Ah, that's it." The man eagerly sat up. "Two months ago. The Yamasaki Manor."

"Oh!" The memory hit me. "The Philosopher... um." _...no wait, he had a name..._

His eyes fell to the ground. "Truly a tragic event. My heart wrenches at the thought of being involved with such people. Ah, and I do believe your friend enjoying the pastry over there was the one who solved the dastardly crime." He eyed my immediate right. I looked back, and saw Shinichi stepping closer.

Mom piped in, "I read about that case in the paper, such an odd case." She winked at me. "It's nice to know you've made such good friends Keiko. Good friends are hard to find."

My head wrapped around the phase which came out of Mom's mouth. _So, smart friends = good friends, huh? _"Yeah, well, thanks Mom. A- anyway, I wasn't aware anyone lived next door. How long have you been there?"

The Philosopher raised a brow, "Four months. Must be my irregular work schedule," he quirked a smile. "Usually I go in early morning, probably before you even wake up for school. Then I get home anywhere from the afternoon to midnight. It's a wonder we ever met at all," he chuckled.

"Four months is still a lengthy period of time." Shinichi commented. "You should have met her at least once before or after the Yamasaki case be it by coincidence or accidental sighting." His gaze narrowed. "Unless you've been purposely avoiding her."

"Now that would be silly." The Philosopher laughed. "I believe it is that coincidence hasn't been so kind to me lately that our proper meeting hasn't come until now. And speaking of which, where are my manners? My name is Watanabe Tanaka."

We took turns introducing ourselves to him—politely—I had to elbow Shinichi during his introduction, as he had been glaring at Watanabe the entire time.

"Ah yes," Mom turned to me. "We wanted to thank Mr. Watanabe for his help. You made a pie last night, right Keiko?"

"Y- yeah, but—"

"Could you bring him a slice?"

Watanabe held his palms up, humbly declining, "I shouldn't."

"No, we insist," Dad added.

"Well, if you insist..."

All looked expectantly at me then, beaming, and waiting.

"I... I'll go get it..."

Shinichi followed me into the kitchen. A cheerful conversation ensued once we exited.

"But you baked it for me..." Shinichi stated as I sliced a piece off the lemon pie.

"How'd you know?" I had to question.

"I didn't, but what you said just now confirms it."

"Darn it, you always get me with that..."

Shinichi watched me gather silverware, and napkins. "Are you really gonna give him a piece?"

"You ask like I have a choice."

"Put something spicy in it," he mischievously grinned , sifting through the spice cabinet.

"Why?" My eyebrow raised. "You're not seriously upset that he's sampling your pie?"

"Right," Shinichi replied, all sarcasm. "Cause I'm so sensitive." He scoffed. "Keiko, something's not right about Tanaka."

I snuck round the corner, observing him once more. Dark blue sweater, jeans, and tennis shoes. Not an attire that screams anything like hidden weapons or yakuza. "He doesn't seem bad."

"Just because he doesn't _seem bad_, doesn't mean he isn't. That's the whole trick criminals work around in court. Look innocent, and nobody will try to accuse you of anything."

"Gotcha..." Yet after staring a while longer at his lanky figure, I imagined, if he ever posed a threat, that a well placed body slam would do the poor guy in. "But he's so feeble. I can't take that seriously when the guy looks like he'll snap like a twig."

Shinichi cupped a hand over his mouth, then retreated further into the kitchen for a full blown laugh.

"I said something funny?" I anxiously questioned as Shinichi recomposed himself.

"No, it's that I thought something similar about you." He leaned against the counter. "The other day you wanted a serious soccer match, me not holding back, remember?"

"I only lost by one point," I huffed, stomping my foot. "And it was serious, right?"

"Yeah," Shinichi admitted while scratching the back of his neck. "You're legs are so short though, at the time, I couldn't take you seriously. Like a Pomeranian barking at a Golden Retriever."

I upturned my nose. "Still doesn't change the fact that I came so close to beating you."

Shinichi glowered. "Your agility is what got you so far, your aim is horrible."

"So, on a scale, my agility surpassed yours, and your aim surpasses mine." A grin spread across my face. "Combine our strengths, and the Tokyo Spi—"

"Keiko~?" Mom called.

"Oh!" The pie in my hand wobbled from being startled. "Coming!"

"—recently got a new job." Watanabe told Mom and Dad as I walked in. "So, it's likely that we'll be mending a better neighbor-to-neighbor relationship from now on."

"Where do you work now?" Mom asked.

"A Daycare. Hopefully, working with children there will be better than teaching them at a school."

"You were a teacher before?" The question came from my mouth before I could stop it.

He accepted the pie with a, "thank you." Then nodded. "Yes. I taught middle schoolers. Not my cup of tea, really. Perhaps my luck will better itself with a younger generation."

Back in the kitchen, Shinichi scarfed down the last bit of lemon pie. Triumphantly dropping the pie pan into the sink as he did.

"Seconds?" Shinichi asked, all smiles, and slightly protruding belly.

I shook my head in disbelief. "This is so no one else steals a piece of your pie again, isn't it?"

"No." His eyes wandered to the of the living room. "But if it so happens that no one else can steal it now. I see no harm."

_Right._ "Anyway Shinichi, how about I walk you home? Seems like they're going to be talking for awhile."

"Alright."

As we stepped out the door, I shouted, "Mom, I'm leaving for a bit!"

"Be careful!" She replied.

Not like that even needs to be said in broad daylight. Trees swaying in the wind. Clear blue sky's. The occasional chirp of a bird, and flocks overhead migrating in perfect formation. All the signs of a perfect day.

I tugged Shinichi as he began walking the wrong way. He yawned and mumbled something, but didn't elaborate.

"You feeling alright?"

Shinichi shrugged.

"...was the pie bad?"

He shook his head for a negative.

"Then—"

"Heeyy!" Rans' voice rang out ahead of us. "What are you two doing out and about? Still in your uniforms I see."

"Hey yourself," I replied, then hastily searched for a clock. "Wait. What's the time? You can't seriously be telling me that you had enough time to go home, change out of your uniform, and find us here?"

"Yes and yes." She smirked. "And what have you two been up to?"

"Snacking on some pie and..." I nudged Shinichi, "you've been rather quiet."

He shrugged once more.

That's when it hit me. "There wasn't even a rush. You ate a whole pie, and now you're experiencing a sugar crash?"

Ran laughed, "It's like something a child would do, eat until their full, then nap it off."

"Shut up," Shinichi snapped, his fierce reaction got me to laugh as well. Then he turned on his heel, and waved us goodbye. "I'm going home, see ya tomorrow."

"Bye!" We waved him away.

That's when Ran invited me to accompany her on a trip to the grocery store. My stomach readily agreed to that; loudly. Luckily it only evoked a good laugh from Ran. She even offered for me to stay the night and join her for dinner. While thinking of that neighbor Shinichi warned me from, I accepted her offer. Afterall, it's only one night.


	8. Ominous Clouds

Fresh crisp air, plentifully clouds. Flowerpots overflowing, and cascading with a myriad of petals. Lovely soft shades of blue flowers, complementing the yellow it grows besides. Natural scenery is something to be admired. It never bores, for it always changes. The air; always a new breeze. Clouds; never sitting still. And flowers whose life comes, just as quickly as it goes.

Yet on such a lovely evening, I enter the Detective Agency in which Ran lives, and find her dear old man very near the edge of a drunken stupor.

"Who're you?" Kogoro slurred his question to me.

"Old man... it's me, Keiko." His unfocused stare warded me from seriously attempting to remind him. "I'm Ran's friend..."

Ran dropped the groceries—specifically the milk—slamming it hard against the tabletop, and jarring our attentions. Already spooked, I stepped aside as she stormed up to her father, swiping up a trail of empty beer cans as she did.

"Dad!" She yelled. "All I ask is that you **try** to keep this place clean! Maybe then we would get clients!"

"Not likely." Kogoro hiccuped. "Your little detective friend steals 'em all."

"Shinichi doesn't _steal_ cases," I butted in. "The cases flock to him for his ability to notice what others cannot."

"Hmph, how would you know?" He glared at me. "Also, why are you in my home?!"

"Sober up already, Dad, this is Keiko!" Ran clenched her fist, withholding her full rage. "I invited her to have dinner with us."

Kogoro scoffed then focused on me. "Alright, fine, _Keiko_. Since you're a guest, don't make a mess." He chuckled giddily, "heheh, I'm a poet and didn't know it."

What I remember after that is only the end result. Ran's hand pressing Kogoro's head against the desk. Somewhere in the middle; a loud bang.

Then with all my nerves in disarray, Ran smiled. "He just needs to sleep it off."

All too quickly I nodded in agreement. Then Ran went to tidy more of the mess, anger somehow returning as she did, so I stopped her.

"R-Ran? If it would help, I could clean up while you cook."

"It would." Relief washed over her. "Thanks!"

* * *

><p>That night; after cleaning and eating, and—in the case of Kogoro—drinking. Ran rolled out a guest futon for me on the ground beside her bed. We tossed a goodnight back and forth. Then a metronome of ticks from some nearby clock filled the air. I began to wonder if this would be my first night at a friend's home devoid of any tête-à-tête before bed. Until Ran leaned over the side of her mattress, hands folded beneath her head as a pillow.<p>

"Sorry you had to witness that earlier... It's times like these that I wish my Dad would take his job seriously. If he focused more on work and spent less time drinking..." A worrisome expression flashed across her face, she quickly masked it with a smile. "That might be asking for a miracle..."

"No way," I countered, "Despite how he acts, you've turned out fine. Continue to influence him with your good habits, I think he'll change. Ya know, at least stop drinking as often."

"Thanks," she chuckled. "Or I could find better places to hide his beer." Then her smile widened. "That reminds me, Shinichi promised to pay for a day at Tropical Land if I win the Metropolitan Karate Tournament."

I laughed. "There's no if about it, that day is set in stone." Then raised a brow. "Tropical Land though? The amusement park?"

"You've never been?" She couldn't hide the surprise in her voice. "You should come with us!" Suddenly, a rather impish look settled on her features. "He'd be more than happy to pay for you as well."

"Ya think so?" I anxiously scratched my cheek. "When is it?"

Ran collapsed back into bed. "Now that I think about it, the Tournament itself isn't until December. Sorry for getting your hopes up."

"That's alright, it's something to look forward to. Although, while we're on the topic, there's an annual Track Tournament for anyone willing to compete." I squirmed excitedly under the covers. "I want to hone my skills to win it!"

"That involves challenging the quickest of each city. Why not try a more local competition?"

My eyes darted about the room. "A Tournament is the best against the best. I kinda figured if I won, maybe it would give me enough courage to um... confess s-somethin' to... someone..."

"No way!" Ran giggled into her palm. "To Shinichi, you're going to say something like that?!"

I nervously folded the covers back and forth.

"You are! What words of love will fly through the air?" Ran eagerly leaned closer. "Can I watch?"

"N-no! Besides, what if he wants to stay friends?"

Ran shook her head, laughing, "go to bed."

* * *

><p>Overall votes concluded that class 2-A and 2-B would collectively assemble a haunted house; dubbed Two Terror by the representatives... On a scale of 1 to Agasa, this is so cliché ... even for school.<p>

"Guess what?" I threw the rhetoric out then announced, "I signed up for Track! I went in this morning, and they told me it'll be official once the festival ends."

"You didn't give us time to guess," Shinichi playfully commented. "Well, congratulations, Keiko."

"I assumed you finally decided to join group therapy." Sonoko shrugged. "Guess my guess was way off."

I lunged to shove her, yet she caught my hands. We pushed off each other palms, neither relenting, as the force increased.

"Is that so?" my voice oozed with sarcasm. "Maybe it's time we brought up your dietary habits?"

"No, I have noticed a little flab in your thighs, seeing as you've joined Track, you must see it too. I'm glad."

Shinichi pushed us apart. "Ladies..." He dropped markers into our hands. "Work."

_Oh, yeah._ Our little group had been assigned the task of creating the 'Two Terror' sign.

I knelt down to return to our job of scribbling in the letters when marker plopped down before me; Sonoko's. I looked up to give her a dirty look, yet she had already meandered to another group, asking if they needed help instead of aiding her own group.

"Ugh," Shinichi topped his marker with a sour expression. "This marker stinks."

I seized his hand and took an inquiring whiff. "Scented markers?" My eyes gleamed mischievously. "Ya know, I would keep using it just to annoy someone."

Shinichi rolled his eyes, "Someone?"

"Someone... Some girl... Sonoko. Specifics, specifics."

He ruffled my hair. "Behave." And left to replace his utensil.

* * *

><p>"Hey."<p>

Peeking over the crease of my arm, my eyes lazily wandered up to meet Shinichi hovering curiously above. "Huh?" A jaw popping yawn overcame me.

"You made a weird mark." He pointed to a long red streak across the O I was previously shading in.

"Aw..." The mistake matched the color in my hand. "I must've dozed off..."

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Donno... But I do remember Sherlock needed us to chase mice in order to solve a case. Then Watson tried to burn a tennis ball for some experiment, and I was like; yeah, business as usual."

"...you should find some white-out."

"I should find some white-out." I nodded diligently.

However, when I returned with said item, Shinichi had disappeared. I resumed coloring when the tip of something black caught my attention. Before I could register the object, a cats meow sent me reeling all the way across the room. At which point, I could see—in Shinichi's hands—was a ceramic cat. Thank goodness instead of laughing, he seemed genuinely shocked.

"I- I knew it."

I spoke through gritted teeth. "If ya knew it, then why'd ya do it?!"

"Never mind me. Why are you so frightened by cats?"

"That's because—! ...Because..." The suddenly vigilant ears in the room gave me cause for pause. "I'll tell ya later..."

Shinichi tossed the cat with a medley of other decorations, asking as we resumed our task, "would an actual cat bring you to tears?"

I shook my fist at him, stating flatly, "yer asking for it."

Yet he laughed. "Ooh, that's new. You're always in such high spirits, seeing you project any other emotion is rare." He bumped shoulders with me. "Being happy all the time; that's just begging me to mess with you."

"Is that what you think...?" My frown deepened as I scribbled in the R. "More often than not I can be quite a bundle of negativity. It's not rare. And of anyone in my life, I've somehow managed to show you a multitude of emotions despite my best efforts to hide them." A smile crept across my face while recounting the memories. "The thing is, the majority of our time together; I'm happy. You're a light in the dark, and when standing in illumination, shadows cannot come near. Being with you brings out all my good thoughts, I'll even forget I was in a bad mood, ya know."

Shinichi's cheeks built up to a lovely crimson, however when he noticed that I had been staring, he reached forward and drew a large orange swirl on my cheek.

He blinked at me, then his marker. "I'm not sure why I did that..."

After drawing two red marks across his nose, my sarcastic response was, "me neither."

"Keiko!" Two girls, Tashiro and Hidaka, came leisurely down the hall.

"Phone call for you in the main office," Tashiro pointed over her shoulder.

"Was your Mom," Hidaka went on. "Said to pass on a message; _It I looks like rain, find an umbrella_."

"Is that so?" My voice wavered. "Guess I should call back." I planned to walk, but soon tripped. After I caught myself the momentum propelled me into a full run.

Through the window, Shinichi gazed at a clear blue sky. "...odd."


	9. What's Left Unsaid

Voicemail, voicemail, voicemail. Home, Mom's cell, Dad's cell, no one would answer! What went wrong? I put the phone down and stepped outside, nibbling my thumb. Scenarios tumbled one over another in my mind, but nothing felt plausible. _It I looks like rain, find an umbrella._ In other words; Nobody's home, go somewhere safe. Why would no one be home?

"Sachiko?" A man called.

"Um, yeah?"

He offered me the phone. "Your mother wishes to speak to you."

_Mom?!_ I hastily brought it to my ear, "hello?"

"How many times must you break protocol?!" Mom yelled, practically biting my ear off. _Oh. Protocol: 'once a message has been conveyed, no more contact is permitted unless instructed otherwise_.' She then briskly continued, "listen, it's nothing to do with your case. Your Grandmother collapsed, so I've been at the hospital. They don't know what it is yet, but I'll contact you this time tomorrow for an update. Dad isn't going to be home for work reasons, and the doctors have asked that I not leave until things are sorted out. Now, do as you're told." A dial tone replaced her voice; call ended.

"Wait! Which hospital—?! Mom!" I pleaded to no avail.

I tossed the phone back at the man, and ran. _They would have gone to the nearest hospital; Beika General Hospital. Why should I wait an entire day to hear about Grandma? After all I've done to help, they expect me to obediently—?_ I came to a halt at the school gates. My deafening thoughts ceased, and the world painted itself to life once more. Noises echoing from classes setting up stands, creating signs, and gathering supplies.

I bowed my head. _Have I actually helped? My presence is it. They' do everything for me... As long as I cooperate, I can stay and believe that I'm making a difference._ My heels scuffed as I reentered the school, _but still... It's vexing to not be near Grandma after hearing that... unaware of how she is._

The flame which fueled my drive has slowly been dying, and I only realised this fact now that the embers were fully extinguished. All too late the smoke from its remains pooled into my head, clogged my throat, and irritated my eyes. _First Shinichi keeping me in the dark, and now this thing with Grandma._ I gulped in a breath. _This isn't good_, tears tracked down my cheeks, _The last thing I want is people asking why I'm upset._ I glanced up, searching for a hideaway to compose myself, but froze at the sight of Shinichi.

His smile faded when our eyes met.

I kept my head down, briskly walking passed in hopes of escape. Yet he caught my hand. Then proceeded to drag me to an area under the stairs, secluded from prying eyes.

"_It looks like rain_, from how you seemed to understand it, is a code phrase." Shinichi leaned persistently to and fro, struggling to maintain eye contact, as I looked everywhere but him. "What happened?"

After a ridiculous amount of avoidance, I slid to the floor, hiding away into the fetal position.

A moment alone is all it would take. A moment alone, and the rest of the day would fly by with no sullen emotions; no tears. However, Shinichi's presence alone pried open that carefully packed bottle within me.

"It's nothin'." I mumbled, "m'tired," then immediately regretted saying anything from the unsteady quiver in my voice.

Shinichi scoffed. "That's a lie." He knelt down, and managed to slip a hand between my arm and head. With two fingers he tilted my chin up. Unwillingly, I met him face to face. Training my eyes on the ground as he swabbed at my tears with his sleeve.

"Never thought I'd see you like this," Shinichi admitted, voice soft. "Can't say I like it... but I can't imagine leaving you alone either."

"I'd rather be alone." I scooted away. "They're my tears, I don't need any help to get rid of them."

"That's not going to keep me from helping you anyway."

Before I could protest, Shinichi pulled me into an embrace. Comforting me, unaware he's one of the reasons why I'm crying. I pushed off him in a fruitless effort.

"What kind of detective are you?" Although I planned to never bring it up, the urge to question him—to let him know why he should leave—was too strong. "You say you'll help me find Toreck, and then do nothing. I gave you my secrets. Is that all you wanted? To know what was going on?" I sucked in a breath before a sob overtook me. "Because if you didn't want to help, please say so before isolating me like this."

His grip slackened.

"My grandma collapsed. They won't even tell me why until tomorrow. Why am I constantly uninformed of everything important? Even by you." After shoving Shinichi away that time, I expected him to go—as he should. However he pulled me back with abrupt force.

"I didn't want you to worry... seems the opposite happened," he shrugged, rubbing a hand across my back as he spoke. "The thing is, I did some research on property Toreck owns. Two plots of land were officially sold by him in Utah; one to your parents, and the other which had a facility built upon it that—I'm assuming—is where you worked. Other than that, there's six." His hand came to rest on my shoulder. "Those last six are plots of land he owns right here in Japan which have yet to be sold. One of those being in Ibaraki close to here."

I jerked back to confirm, "you didn't..."

He smirked. "Last weekend."

"You said you had a case!"

"It wasn't a lie. Besides if you had heard the truth, you would have followed."

"Because it's dangerous!"

"_Was_ dangerous."

"...what?"

He patted my cheeks dry with his sleeve once more, I recoiled slightly, yet bore it as he spoke. "When I arrived, it seemed to be just that; unsold land. No one lived nearby, so I couldn't ask around, but while investigating I noticed patches of grass which appeared greener than the surrounding area."

An answer popped into my head. "Fake grass?"

"Yep. When stepped on repeatedly, grass dies out, and creates a dirt trail. I think it had been put there to hide the fact that people frequent the area, because it led to the most unusual place." He ushered me to sit against the wall, then plopped comfortably by my side. "My weight on one particular artificial turf caused it to depress slightly. After moving it aside, I found a door which opened down into a hidden room. A ladder leading inside had been cut, but the floor wasn't too far."

My heart skipped a beat. If an enemy saw his face... "An underground room in the middle of nowhere. You called the police, right?"

He tilted his head, like the question itself sounded too bizarre to comprehend. "I jumped in, of course."

"Are you insane?!"

"No." His statement bordered a question. "I'm a detective."

"They're not some petty thieves." I cried. "They have guns, you idiot! On a good day you may be able to outsmart one crook with a weapon, but they are never alone."

"Yeah..." Shinichi averted his eyes. "Despite outer appearances, the place was huge. With a staircase leading down to another floor not far from the entrance, but on that floor alone, I counted over two dozen men and woman."

My voice abandoned me in light of how dire this had become. _How did he... get away...?_

His nose wrinkled, a hint of disgust while he admitted, "it reeked." Shinichi took a deep breath, shook his head, and said in a sober tone, "probably hundreds down there, and every single one of them dead."

He glanced at me, then wrapped an arm around my shoulder. I could feel the blood draining from my face. "Did the FBI... maybe...?"

"No. The entire building had been burned. Any traceable evidence destroyed. This is the work of someone covering their tracks."

"In that case, do you think Toreck's cutting off loose ends because of what happened with me? I mean, it's on public record what land he owns, of course the authorities would have found what he hid there eventually."

"While that is true, it may not necessarily be Toreck cutting loose ends."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Think about it, if he wished to destroy what the public knows in connection to himself, wouldn't he have simply burned the building? From what I could tell of what was left, this underground building's purpose was to house these people. Almost like a safe house. Small separate rooms, and a plethora of various equipment. Including a wide open area downstairs where I only discovered bullets lining the walls. It had been completely emptied otherwise... Hard to infer anything because of how charred and messy it was."

"How strange..." Tapping a finger to my chin, I asked, "Shooting indoors though? Wouldn't that be private target practice, or a shooting range?"

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"Soldiers," he mumbled. Then stated, "those men were secret underground soldiers. More than likely undocumented. No one knows they exist, so no one looks for them. Those are the same men that hunt for you at night."

"Then how can this not be the FBI? Toreck wouldn't kill his own men, right? People are a valuable asset to come by, especially for criminals. Wouldn't he relocate them... or..."

"Maybe he couldn't relocate them. As we said before, it's publically known what land he owns. Where would he put them?"

I roughly exhaled, running my hands down my face, "that's so cruel. How could he... to his own people...?"

"There's one more possibility..." Shinichi went silent, as if debating whether or not to speak the next word. "Sabotage."

My eyes widened. "That would mean..."

He nodded. "Either Toreck is being taken down from the inside, or a higher organisation is targeting him while he's down."

"This is so complicated," I confessed. "It's making my head spin..."

Shinichi comfortingly rubbed my upper arm. "Don't worry, I've got all the facts straight in my head, and what doesn't make sense yet will come to light eventually. Trust me."

"What doesn't make sense?" _We came up with possible answers for everything he discovered, right?_

He hesitantly smiled, something he probably thought would reassure me, but I definitely noticed the conflict in his eyes. "Small details. Nothing too important."

"Alright," I reluctantly agreed.

He tilted us forward. "Ready to return to work?"

"My eyes are red."

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna wait till they're not."

"Okay." Shinichi relaxed, resting his head atop mine against his shoulder.

"...you can go," I murmured

"And do what? During preparations for the Cultural Festival, they don't count attendance. The only reason I didn't skip today is because you were so excited about it."

That got me to giggle. "You're such a goof."

"It's pronounced, _thank you_," he said, although the humor was palpable in his tone.

"Right," I smirked. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

* * *

><p>The end of school bell. It rang loud and clear. Excited footsteps followed. Down the halls, through the school. I blinked awake, instantaneously aware of a faint breathing beside me.<p>

"Shinichi?"

He confirmed his presence with a small disapproving groan.

"Wake up." I wiggled off his hand around my shoulder.

In retaliation he wrapped both arms around, snuggling closer to my collarbone. "Sleep"

"You passed out," I said accusingly, ignoring that warm fuzzy feeling his proximity brought.

"To be fair, you passed out first."

That effectively ended my side of the argument. He yawned and stretched; a contagious act, as I began doing the same.

Shinichi then pulled me to my feet, smiling and patting my hair as he said, "guess it's time for us to head home."

"Can I stay at your house tonight?"

"Yeah."

"No one's in my home at the moment. Sorry it's a bit last minute..."

He shook his head, "nothing last minute about it. Besides," he grinned, "I finally got the kitchen cleaned."

I outright laughed, "we are **not** baking Castella again!"

"Yeah." He scratched the back of his neck. "I don't think it was suppose to blow up like that."

"It's not!" my stomach ached from laughing harder. "I can't believe you mixed up self-raising flour with regular flour."

"How was I suppose to know there was a difference...?" he grumbled.

* * *

><p>There's something so tranquil of Shinichi's abode. With it's vast space, and occasionally unoccupied rooms, it's understandable how others would find it eerie. However, the stillness to me is an oasis. An island away from the roaring waves of energy outside.<p>

"I'll be in the shower," Shinichi announced after dinner.

"Don't steal all the hot water!" I sharply replied.

My ears recoiled at the sound of him slamming the bathroom door. Say nothing though, and he will leave me to freeze in an ice cold shower...

While preparing for my turn in the tub, I sifted through a drawer. Not his; mine. With the amount of sleepovers I have, Ran and Sonoko also keep one. It's a spare spot for me packed with pajamas, a toothbrush, towels, soap, basic living necessities. Always prepared for my spontaneous arrivals, seeing as I'm terrible at planning anything.

"Shinichi, you bathe forever..." I openly complained, throwing myself onto his bed out of boredom. To my surprise, it rebounded me to my feet with elastic ease.

"Cool!" I shouted, leaping atop it, and bouncing to my hearts content. Eventually challenging myself to tap the ceiling.

"Your turn!" Shinichi shouted at the slam of a door.

"Wha-!" In a frenzy, I jumped forward.

My elbow inadvertently knocked Shinichi desk, toppling a small ceramic pencil holder to the floor. Diving to save it proved useless as it shattered mere inches from my fingers.

Shinichi's incoming steps propelled me into action. I whipped my towel out and scooped the ceramic remains into a pile. Then folded them into the towel, and shoved it all into one of Shinichi's many drawers.

Shinichi began to call, "Keik—?"

As I sprinted past him out the door shouting, "goin'!"

* * *

><p>...No towel.<p>

No towel, ergo, no way to dry when I finished my shower. Even after shaking and wringing my hair out I confirmed: air drying does next to nothing... So, I slipped my clothes on over damp skin, half-forcing it, then returned to Shinichi's room. Only to find my efforts were made in vain. He had my towel unfolded, and every bit of what was once a pencil holder laid out before him.

"There's a story here..." Shinichi said, sitting at his desk, eyes darting between me and a piece of broken ceramic between his fingers.

I nervously snuck around his gaze to sit on the bed. "Must be tiny writin' to fit on that."

With a crafty smile, he approached me, stating, "having grown up in Osaka, it's only natural to adopt their tongue. That being said Osaka-ben is hard to mask, but you do hide it well... except in certain situations..."

Shinichi loomed over, giving me no choice but to lean back. "An' that'd be?" I chirped, my accent heavily laden into those few words.

Shinichi rolled his eyes, smiling as he took a seat next to me, and asked, "explanation?" Then promptly shrugged. "Or should I tell you what I've picked apart?"

"Ya see," I began in a strong voice, aware he's offering me an out, but also aware of his sense of humor. "Someone broke in. And not only did this person jump on your bed," my voice raised accusingly. "This person had the nerve to shatter that precious pencil holder as well— o-on accident, of course..."

"Oooh?" Shinichi chuckled. "Does _this person _have a name?"

"Um... Well... This person, for fear of blame, wished to remain anonymous."

"Ah, I see." Shinichi draped his towel over my head. "This person left behind a crucial piece of evidence though. Can you believe it? They wrapped the crime up in their own towel; no getting around that in court." He then tugged at my soggy sleeves. "Not to mention the evidence which now shows on their person since they left said towel behind."

Suddenly the door flew open, immediately followed by Agasa's beckoning, "Shinichi!"

We froze on the spot, staring at one another in shock. Until, slowly, we turned, but by then Agasa took it upon himself to scurry away, sputtering an abashed, "sorry!" as he did.

Shinichi rushed into action, "hey, wait!" He chased Agasa down the hall, hurriedly explaining, "it's not what it looks like..."

I rejoined the two as Agasa joyfully stated, "oh, a simple sleep over."

He then produced a beaker from his pocket, and dangled it precariously before us. "Well, it's good that the two of you are here. I have invented a new refreshment! But not just any drink, the flavor of this one varies with each individuals taste bud!"

"But it's blue," I felt the need to point out.

"Someone may find it delicious." Agasa contradicted.

"But it's blue..."

"Moving on," Shinichi interrupted. "What do you want us for?"

Agasa shoved the breaker to Shinichi's lips. "Try it!"

At Shinichi's horrified response, I snickered and elbowed him forward. "Yeah Shinichi, try it. You're the one who asked."

Shinichi resorted to collapsing dramatically onto my shoulder, bemoaning, "and after my poor poor pencil holder was—"

My guilt ridden hand reached for the beaker. "I-I'll try it Professor..." As he passed it, the thick glop sloshed inside, sticking to its clear encasing occasionally with each sway. "Just a taste?"

Agasa eagerly nodded.

I sipped the drink, yet surprisingly, "it tastes like... grapefruit and green tea."

"Really?" Shinichi wrapped his hand around mine to raise it to his mouth. He sampled the concoction, then spat, "gross! Broccoli and coffee!"

"Liar," I yanked it away. "It's good."

"Success!" Agasa proclaimed. "Blame the taste on your genes. For example, some people love broccoli while others can't stand it. This is because you're taste buds are different. You two were born with different taste receptors. So, one can taste flavors in food which the other cannot. And this," he proudly pointed to his blue glop, "is proof!"

"Really? Then—"

The telephone interrupted me. Shinichi dismissed himself to answer it.

While sipping more, the idea fascinated me enough to ask, "Professor, how'd you make thi—?" My question broke off at a hiccup.

"A side effect?" Agasa suddenly grabbed my chin, popping my mouth open to examine inside. "Or are you prone to hiccups?"

"No, I'm— (_hiccup_) it's rare."

"I'll look into this." Agasa scratched his head. "It is late, however I know a store which is open 24/7... Right! I'll buy some equipment before bed, and perhaps you could come by tomorrow for a test?" He allowed me no time to answer before his snatched the beaker and swung out the door. "So much work. Goodbye, Keiko!"

"B— (_hiccup_) bye!" When Shinichi returned I stuck my tongue out, and inquired, "is it blue?"

He disregarded me to search the room. "Where's the Professor?"

"He left for the— (_hiccup_) store. Why?"

Shinichi palmed his forehead. "Megure called me in for a case, but now no one's here to watch you."

"I don't need any baby— (_hiccup_) sitters," I grumbled. "The one constantly tailing me is enough..." At that moment, a brilliant idea occurred to me, "how about I go with you?"

Shinichi checked the clock; nearly midnight. After much consideration, and an attempt to catch Agasa, he finally gave in, "fine..."


	10. Lay Your Theories to Rest

The scene of the crime amidst a field. At the center of this cop-infested piece of nature, the murder victim laid peacefully upon a bed of grass. Her frail pale face blotched with the droplets of a diluted crimson.

I eyed everything, mimicking Shinichi's observation skills; wondering if anything my mind detailed could compare to how he analysed and interpreted the finer points.

The victim appeared so serene; nothing at all like how I envisioned what the body bag held from our time at the Yamazaki manor. Plainly before my eyes this woman could very well be a doll painted in makeup, an actress to play todays role of the dead. My imagination must have spooked me more when I saw Mayuri's body covered, and wondered how mutilated the body had become underneath. It's almost a relief to know the imagination is more fearsome than reality. Regardless, there's an unspoken aura which a corpse emits; eerie whispers of silence impossible to tune out.

"22-year old, female," Megure stated. "Blunt force to the head, then stabbed in the chest."

"No witnesses?" Shinichi asked.

"None."

"Ah!" An officer yelped, grappling me away from the body by the collar after I attempted to give it an experimental poke.

"Kudo," Megure muttered. "I know the job is appealing and all, but did you have to bring your girlfriend? There's better places to go for a first date."

Shinichi reprimanded me with a flick to the forehead. "It's not a date."

I made a sullen face at his method of scolding then responded with, "yeah," and swayed from heel to toe. "Besides my first date is going to be beachside with a butler serving rare French desserts."

"Funny..." Shinichi deadpanned.

"Yeah?" I murmured. "Well, I bet your first date is going to end in a beachside homicide investigation."

He elbowed me. I elbowed back. An elbow war has begun.

Three knocks in he evaded, and sent me off balance. So, instead I stated, "you know what they say: follow the trail of murder and eventually it will follow you."

"No one says that," Shinichi replied.

"Your fans do."

"Which fans?"

That took a moment of external thought. "DCTP?"

"What...?"

"Hey!" An officer struggled with a young girl who fought to get past the crime-scene tape.

"Let me through," the girl cried. "I know her!"

Shinichi approached them, asking, "what's the problem?"

"That's my sister!" She yelled.

A lapse of attention from the officer, and the girl slipped through, only to be detained by several others. They settled her down, and took a statement; when she last saw the victim, an alibi, and so on. Throughout the whole confrontation the girl cried. Yet, despite her tears she kicked all who attempted to offer physical comfort, and bit the head off of anyone who called her sister _the victim_.

"Feisty little thing," Shinichi remarked.

"I dunno." Watching the girl defend her sister even after death spoke volumes of how alive their bond must have been, as well as how broken it must be now. "How would you react if someone you loved became a mere factor in an investigation?"

"I wouldn't believe it."

A feeble laugh arose from within me. "A man of facts, who deals with evidence and truth, wouldn't believe what he see's with his own eyes?"

"There's always deception. I've dealt with forged deaths... " He leaned back, hands in his pockets, staring at the night sky while he spoke, "everything would have to be confirmed to the point of obsession. Alibis and testimonials, DNA, even dental tests― every detail would have to be flawless before I could accept such a thing..."

Shinichi's distant gaze could be read a mile away. This possibility's run around his mind more than once. As someone who deals with death on an almost daily basis, it's no wonder the topic's found it's way into his personal thoughts.

I took his hand into mine, twined our fingers, and gave him a light smile. "Then I hope you never have to go to such lengths."

Shinichi returned the expression gratefully, squeezing my hand before letting go to mingle back in with the authorities.

He pointed out to them members of the crowd. Suspects I suppose; they all crossed the crime-scene tape. Sometime later the coroners escorted the body off the premises. Then we all hopped in a cop car and took a trip to the station.

With the whole back seat to myself, I comfortably laid across the entirety of it, saying, "never thought I'd sit in of one of these."

Shinichi got the front seat, no questions asked. Simply slipped right in after politely holding the back door open for me. Hmph. Luring me in with manners, only to leave me to ride suspiciously in the backseat alone. Since when can a high schooler call shotgun in a police vehicle?

Out of boredom my imagination tangled with the idea that I'd been arrested, and for good reason. Oh, yes. A hard criminal to catch. Slipped through every loophole, dodged all barricades, till finally they caught me. But with what evidence? I would've been unarmed in an unmarked vehicle, no loose ends, no witnesses. And free the next day.

Shinichi snuck a glance of me over his shoulder. Oh? Had I been thinking that loud?

"Little lass like me won't survive behind bars." I placed my palm flat against the suspect transport enclosures, pleading, "Officer, ya gotta listen. It wasn't me. I'm innocent! You've got the wrong―!"

"You're not being arrested," Shinichi interrupted, obviously in no mood for games.

Still I grinned. "Aw, Officer, you believe me! Now, would you be so kind as to meet me in court and tell the jury―"

Shinichi forcibly frowned. "Keiko..."

To my surprise and delight, the eavesdropping driver, Chiba, chuckled at our interactions.

Not unlike a hospital, the police headquarters carried a clinical air. Disasters from all around at all times converge here; to people at desks. Accidental or not, someone somewhere needs help, and those who can offer assistance are either on the scene now or dealing with the aftermath later. A job that never ends.

The suspects individually filled out statements, underwent interrogations, and waited as Shinichi discussed the case with his colleagues. Seeing as I'm not savvy with the technicalities, I fell out of the loop here. So, with a visitors pass in hand, I scuttled off onto an adventure. Which was basically me going everywhere the pass allowed me access to; police bathrooms, phone booths, some odd offices, and the break room. I found every other door to be locked or occupied with someone who politely ordered me to **go away**.

Once Shinichi and I rendezvoused outside the interrogation rooms I recounted the highlights of my trip around headquarters.

"You found every possible place that badge allows you access to," Shinichi asked. "In a matter of ten minutes?"

"Track," I stated as an excuse.

"Still... why?"

"After getting acquainted with the coffee machine I just- I dunno- feel like I gotta do something!"

"Of course..." Shinichi sighed, exhausted, " you do know we have to wake up for school in four hours, right?"

"What?"

"Nevermind." He took my hand. "Follow me."

We strolled to an empty conference room, occasionally swinging hands and smiling like kids on a field trip as we did. Pictures of suspects, evidence, and written statements were spread out upon a wide table inside. Shinichi leaned over, studying the facts.

Watching Shinichi work got me thinking, _alright detective, let's see how that mind of yours works. How do __you_ _solve crimes? Maybe connect the evidence, or reread the statements?_

Shinichi eyes darted from the table to me several times, till finally he confronted me with, "what?"

Trying for casual nonchalance, I slid into a chair and spun away to observe over my shoulder. However, Shinichi's focus remained on me, now with his head tilted and eyebrow curiously raised.

So, I stammered out an, "ignore me."

"How?"

"Keep thinkin' of the case."

"But you're staring right at me," given a few seconds he said, "now you're glaring."

"Fine." After going outside to peer secretly through the doorway, he returned to the case. _Learning how he puzzles out his cases could help me solve my own_, I thought anxiously. Shinichi cupped his chin, eyes unfocused and intense. _Where will you begin? Put a suspect in the hot seat, force them to fess up? Yeah. Also some off the books snooping and—. _

Shinichi snapped his fingers. "I know who did it."

"Really..." My expectations deflated on the spot. How'd he do that so fast? Where'd the process go? "No build up; heavy discussions? No tearing apart the evidence? ...and I know you skimmed over those statements."

"A great detective need only skim. Besides, the case was odd, yet simple."

"Right," I waved him away. What are methods to a machine anyway? "Go on, save the day."

Shinichi called everyone, one by one the suspects and officers involved in the case piled into the conference room. Finding it cramped, I sat outside.

Right when the biggest energy crash hit me, the door clicked open, and the culprit, plus two officers, exited. It wasn't who I thought it was going to be, that's for sure. A humble older gentlemen wearing handcuffs and tears. Emotions poured out from the room along with the man, immediately drowning me in dread. And when he met my eye, almost pleading for sympathy, I couldn't help but wonder; why is it that criminals never appear the way they should?

On the way home we ended up in the same seating, except this time Shinichi had all the energy. He happily retold a synopsis of his deduction to me, and like a morbid lullaby, it lulled me to sleep.

* * *

><p>Warm. Warm and comfortable. My eyelids felt too heavy to open. Someone seemed to be carrying me by piggyback; I could feel each step they took ripple from their legs to me. Being disorientated and tired, the situation should've worried me, yet the scent of a certain shampoo helped me decipher the person. Shinichi.<p>

Soon after the click of a door, he plopped me down onto a cushiony surface.

"Keiko?"

"Hm?"

"Are you awake?"

"No." The comfort of the moment felt too good to say otherwise.

Shinichi softly chuckled. "You fell asleep in the police cruiser." When no response came from me he went on, "will you tell me now? Why are you afraid of cats?"

"Sleep..." I urged.

"Come on..." he urged right back.

"Fine. It's..." given a moment of quiet I began to drift away to dreamland.

So, Shinichi poked, and prompted me, "it's?"

"It's something... _(poke)_ from a long time ago... _(poke)_ I can't remember why..."

"Seriously?" The amount disappointment painted into that one word astounded me.

"I don't need a reason to be afraid..."

Still, I could practically hear his eyes rolling. "Is that so?"

"Yeah... irrational fear," I clarified. "Ya know, sometimes people don't need a reason to be scared, like the fear of the dark... and it's okay. Everyone's got something. For me it's cats... Shinichi, you're scared of something as well. Don't try to deny it... even for someone like you... who knows what's in the dark."

Time stretched on, as I awaited his response, a dream nearly stole my consciousness away.

Then Shinichi whispered, "yeah," as he switched off the lights. "Because knowing what's in the dark, doesn't keep it away."

* * *

><p>With the amount of distractions last night, facing the next day with a level head came easily. Till Mom phoned in, and the gravity of Grandma's condition crystallised in my stomach like a lead brick. A heart attack, mild in intensity. Yet a medical emergency is the last thing anyone needs to worry about considering our situation. To think of her as a hindrance in any way vexed me, but for everyone's safety, I encouraged the choice they had to make.<p>

"Sachiko!" A classmate called, snapping me from my aimless thoughts. "The curtains?"

"Oh!" I darted into action, "on it!" and blindly bumped into a passerby. Then bowed apologetically afterwards, shouting, "sorry!"

They steadied me by the shoulder. "It's alright."

That's when Shinichi maneuvered around them and grinned. "Since you were spacing out, I fetched it." He held up the black curtains before taking them inside.

When he returned I handed him a juice box from the supplies. "Stop being so nice..."

"Thanks," he accepted it, sat down beside the door against the wall, then patted the ground for me to do the same. Seems anyone taller than me got stuck with the the heavy lifting. Shinichi being one of them—exhausted and drenched in sweat—yet babied me despite himself.

"No." I dropped to his side. "Thank you."

"Did you find out anything?"

"Yeah." The feeling in the pit of my stomach became more palpable. "My Grandma had a small heart attack... but she's fine now."

Shinichi reeled me into a side-hug. "I'm glad she's okay."

A bright flash, accompanied by the shutter of a camera, blinded us.

Then when we could finally see, Ran waved a camera at us, chuckling out a, "hi," as she did.

"Why?" I asked, still trying to see around a giant white dot blotting my vision.

Ran smiled wide and proud. "I saw a moment and captured it."

A younger girl some distance away quiveringly reached for Ran, and asked, "can I have my camera back?"

"Can I have this picture developed?"

"Y-yes."

Timidly the girl led a happy Ran away to the Photographers Club a few doors down.

"Any chance we'll get the photo back?"

Shinichi merely shrugged.

* * *

><p>All in all, the preparations for the festival were far more enjoyable than the thing itself. No one showed up to take over our shift managing Two-Terror, leaving Shinichi and I with all the work. So, for the both of us the festival closed on a bitter note.<p>

After hearing of our woes, Ran decided Karaoke would be the cure to a bad day. Shinichi firmly disagreed. Which was odd considering how he's generally okay with everything, including but not limited to, sniffing dead bodies. When asking his reason why, he avoided explanations, and criticised the establishments selection of songs. Only clicking his mouth shut when Sonoko demanded he either keep quiet or leave.

To spice it up we split into teams, and chose what songs the one other would sing. Ran and Sonoko against Shinichi and I.

When deciding on what they should sing he showed no mercy; picking fast paced songs like Feel You Heart and Girigiri Chop, saying, "trust me," when I asked why he wanted to give them a hard time.

It never occurred to me that that would be our only way to win till Shinichi took the mic. His... unique tone stunned me to the point of... well... I forgot to sing. However Ran and Sonoko's chortles broke the spell, and to the best of my ability, I overlapped his voice with my own. Shinichi took it the wrong way though. Singing louder to combat me, till we were practically yelling the lyrics at one another. Once the song ended we stood nose to nose, gritting our teeth while waiting for the music to start up again. At that moment a love song began to play. And I Can't Stop my Love For You flew meekly from our lips.

"I can't stop... I can't..." I dropped the microphone. "I can't sing this!" To which they doubled over laughing. "Geez!"

Shinichi set the mic down, a blush painting his cheeks. "This is playing dirty."

"Like the songs you gave us weren't the same?" Ran managed to ask around her giggles.

We considered it wise at the moment to say nothing.

On Sonoko and Ran's next turn, Shinichi idly queried, "still doing that thing for Agasa?"

"Yep," I answered just as Sonoko tripped over the first verse. "Went in a few times already, but the drink still gives me hiccups."

Shinichi grimaced. "It's a mystery how you can stomach it; that whatever drink."

"He calls it," I paused for effect, "Tongue Twister."

Shinichi faltered. "Of course..."

* * *

><p>Agasa's home felt abandoned. Well, when considering that he's a single man who lives alone, it also feels the same anytime he hits the store. Still. Afternoon. Post-lunch. Typically the time when his ideas stir him to the point of— oh. He's probably in the lab.<p>

"Professor." Ever so cautiously, I toed the door to his lab open. "You home~?" Abruptly the door flipped open, spewing a blast of blue mist into the halls. Open mouthed, and unable to avoid it; the taste of this blue substance hit my tongue and turned out to be none other than his infamous Tongue Twister.

I hiccuped.

"Again?!" Agasa exclaimed.

"Sor- _(hiccup)_ -ry"

"It's fine... I theorised that heating it a certain way would alter its chemical make-up, but..." He collapsed at his desk in dismay.

Poor old man. I gave him a sympathetic pat.

We passed around cleaning supplies, tidying, despite that the stuff went _everywhere_. However, wiping his desktop brought an interesting trinket to my eye. Roundabout the size of a pinball with a fan-looking object protruding from the top.

I pressed a button on the round end and asked, "what's this?"

Agasa took it, mimicked my gesture with the device, and said, "a prototype. It marks my first attempt to create a device that is able to recreate any voice; old, young, boy, or girl."

"Wha- you―!" _My voice came from his mouth, how—?_ "You sound like me!"

"That's because you embedded your voice onto this little machine. So far that's all it can do, copy one voice it hears. Similar to a Lyrebird that can mimic any sound in it's environment. Except this is specific to one sound now; yours."

"Lyrebird? Now anyone can sound like me?" I clasped my hands together. "Awesome! Can I keep it?!"

"Sorry." He slipped it into an open drawer and shut it. "It's my only prototype, maybe next time."

"Okay..." My plans for it fell flat. "Oh, Professor, you know how Ran trains in Karate?"

"Of course."

"Well, with the rookie workout my Track Team has me on, there's extra time for me to go watch her moves after practice. And she has this friend that's taken me aside to teach me a type of Kung Fu. Wing Chun, I think."

"That's nice, but what is it exactly?" He asked whilst returning to tinkering.

"Wing Chun is all about speed in the arms and wrist along with some funny footwork. Such as pivoting the feet to hold up one's weight against an attack. Ran told me Wing Chun is suppose to be used to borrow the attacker's momentum to your advantage, yet all that girl teaches me is how to deflect an attack; push the force of a punch away with an open handed punch of my own and such. I don't think that person likes me much."

"Selective teaching isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"I guess... Ran says that person participates in mixed martial arts tournaments, and has a hard time when it comes to combating anything Kung Fu."

"I see." Agasa smirked. "A win-win scenario; you learn a new skill, and she can use you for practice."

"Exactly."

"So." He smiled. "How was the festival?"

My shoulders fell. "Where to start...?"

Agasa cringed as much as I did on some of the details; such as the girl who exited Two-Terror in uncontrollable tears. Therefore to liven up his mood for poking at gadgets, I confessed my thoughts on Shinichi's singing. He laughed at how it turned into a competition.

Visiting the Professor comes regularly nowadays. At home, it's becoming entirely too difficult to stand the company, since Mom and Dad are not wall decorations, and can talk back, send me to my room, or ground me. The truth is, Grandma went into Protection. Due to her medical condition they thought it wise to not keep her here, and while I do agree, it's made nights nearly unbearable.

On my way home Shinichi appeared, leaning his entire body weight against my back as I struggled to hold him up. When I lost balance and collapsed, he spun round and caught me.

With me draped over his arm, he had the nerve to shake his head disapprovingly, and say, "you can't keep dropping in like this."

"What's that suppose to mean?" I wiggled to get free. "You imp."

"Hmph." He released me, yet followed. "Are you expecting me to disregard that forlorn look you were wearing a second ago?"

We kept walking, with me too coy to say anything, and him too stubborn to ask again.

Then Shinichi tripped me, moving around as he did, so that I also fell right into his arms. "If you wanted a hug, all you had to do was ask."

My face flushed. "I hope you're not expecting a reward for this."

"Nah, but if you really want to," he grinned, "Castella~."

I giggled into his shirt. "No~!"

* * *

><p>AN

A big thank you to Falling Through Time for telling me so long ago that Keiko's fear could be better explained.


	11. Surprise Me

December 10th.

Expecting a person to act on information they were probably given once is by no means fair. However, after spending five months together, is it bad to be a little selfish? Afterall, it's only two little words...

The phone rang around noon. An _Unknown Number_ flashed across the caller ID. "It's Sonoko!" Mom yelled from the kitchen.

"Got it!" I pinched my nose to alter my voice and answered, "110, what is your emergency?"

The other end went silent.

"If you're unable to answer we can track your call. Just stay on the line and-" I laughed when a dial tone picked up.

It rang again. This time Suzuki Sonoko plainly identified on the caller ID.

I answered in a squeaky tone, "Takoyaki, take out or delivery, what's your order?"

"I know that's you, Keiko!" Sonoko snapped.

"Fine. Fine. What's up?"

"Uh," she stammered. "Well, actually... I'm stuck at the pastry shop, you know, the one close to your house? I didn't bring enough to buy something, can I borrow some from you?"

"Ah, alright." _Not too difficult._ "I'll be there in a bit."

Sonoko without enough money... I stopped at the door. Isn't that kind of weird? When I got to the shop however, Sonoko wasn't there.

"Excuse me?" a girl with short dark blue hair piped up as she stepped around the cash register.

"Yeah?"

She fidgeted. "There was, um, someone who said you would show up, and..."

"My friend called saying she needed help paying for something."

"Pay? Oh no, I mean—"

A girl with long orange hair tied up in pigtails leaned over the counter. "That person said something about heading off to the library."

"Okay? ...There's nothing that needs money or...?"

"Oh, w-well she left this." She handed me a bag, then bowed. "And my name is Hinata."

"I'm Asuna," The cashier shot me a thumbs up. "Nice to meetcha."

"Nice to meet ya too, I'm Keiko." With a farewell wave I left. ...And now I have to return a lost item... Maybe someone managed to save Sonoko's tail before me, but then, why'd she leave a bag? I lifted it experimentally, weighing it. Something small-ish? Jewelry? Make-up? What else do girls like?

...car keys?

Halfway to the library a juggler with shoulder length purple hair crossed my path. He stated his name, Paul, and handed me a ball. Lame. Even after encouraging him, he refused to juggle. It's rare to see a performer, but I'm sure the reason he's around is to drum up the crowds for the nearby jewelry exhibit. Energy thrummed through me at the amount of people around. Mostly spectators, but other than that, entertainers, and artists galore.

...and then there's me, entering the library, a desolate area compared to the life around it.

"Sorry, missed 'em." A rather stern and—well—green librarian told me. "Name's Piccolo by the way." He glanced at me from over his book _Living with Aliens._

"Keiko. Did they say where they were going?"

"Right..." He flipped to his bookmark, a small envelope, then handed it to me. "That person dropped this. Said something about a shoe store as well."

"Really?" I sighed, and dragged myself to the exit.

* * *

><p>A small boy with a large straw hat bumped into me outside. His ice cream dropped, splattering a sticky orange mess onto my shoes. "I am <strong>so<strong> sorry!" He bowed. The swift act caused his hat to fall as well.

"It's okay." I caught the hat, yet recoiled at the sight of his—no—her long yellow hair pulled back into a ponytail. "I was um—" she hastily retrieved her hat from my frozen hand. "—going to get new ones anyway."

"No, it's not okay. Here," She dutifully handed me a bouquet of flowers from her small bag. How'd that fit in there? "I got these, please accept it as an apology."

"No it's—"

"My name's Yellow," she smiled bright. "Hope ya like 'em!"

Yellow left too quickly for me to object. I stuffed it into the bag then stared intently at the ground.

Okay. Yes. There's a big event, but it's official, I smell a rat. If Sonoko needed me to pay for that thing a heiress didn't have enough money on hand for, then she wouldn't have been able to leave. Two, considering her level of stealth, there's no way I'm missing her this much. Three, this many people introducing themselves is way more than coincidence. And lastly, it's Sonoko, she's not worth this- this- whatever this is!

But—I halted, one foot in the air upon my decision to head home—I do need new shoes...

"Welcome—" A man with long black hair inside the entrance of the shoe department store paused at the sight of my impatiently raised hand.

"Just-" I sighed. "It's Keiko. Tell me your name, and let's get this over with."

He cooly crossed his arms, as if considering me before monotonously stating, "Byakuya."

I bowed, forcefully, yet courteously. "Thank you."

A spiky orange haired guy, who'd witnessed our exchange, rolled his eyes and said, "Ichigo."

That's when a girl with short black hair gasped, looking between the two men as though they'd committed treason. She then targeted my shoes, the oddest gleam in her eye as she strode over, and said with an air of confidence, "you look like you require assistance!"

Ichigo scrubbed a hand over his face. "Rukia..."

"Let her," Byakuya stated.

Rukia nodded, all smiles and sparkles as she escorted me to the womens section. "Might I interest you in a pair of loafers, or maybe." She slipped out a box from the shelf, and held the pair of shoes proudly before me. "This might be the precise thing you are looking for!"

It's odd. The way she spoke so bluntly; I had to refrain from looking over my shoulder, since it sounded the way one would read while looking directly at a script.

"I'd prefer a, um..." actually what Rukia held is exactly what I wanted. Running shoes with a gel insole, elevated heel, and rubber spiked outer soles. "That. That's good." I smiled and nodded, continuing only because the most curious expression glued itself to her face. "Great."

Suddenly she exploded with happiness. "Really?!"

I hummed an affirmative, checking the material a second time, when she swung me down the aisle.

"Brother!" Rukia chirped. "Ring her up!"

Byakuya nodded, and calmly went about the transaction, pressing buttons, and putting the shoes into a bag. When I handed him the money though, he handed me the receipt.

He shoved both the receipt and money back at me.

"But I—"

Ichigo turned me around, put the bag in my hand, and pushed me to the door. "It's the special today. Any pair free of charge."

"Free of—" I spun around him then stamped. "Did Sonoko put you all up to this?"

"Sonoko?" Rukia blinked. Then a lightbulb went off. "Oh, that person? They said someone would be asking around."

"Let me guess, she said she was going to—" and she completed my sentence with, "—Game on Game."

I sighed. "Always somewhere else..." I eyed them suspiciously, but couldn't help the tinge of blush that colored my anticipation. "Did that person mention anything about today?"

Ichigo stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Like what?"

"Like, um..." the brand new shoes taunted me. A neon sign that just begged me to admit where I thought this might be going. So, I shot my own hopes down and went for the door. Alright. I'll play whatever game this is. Pretending, maybe, it's a prank, instead of what I'm wishing for.

* * *

><p>A mime with brown spiked back hair appeared before me on the streets outside. Without a doubt the most welcoming person all day, one without words.<p>

"Hey," I smiled. "I'm Keiko." To which he pointed at his nametag that read, "Terra."

He grinned and nodded, reaching behind my ear to pull forth a deflated balloon. To my surprise it inflated in an instant. A long balloon which he shaped to form a heart.

"Wow!" I clapped.

His eyes went wide, and just as quickly, he created a balloon arrow. Terra held the heart against his chest, then pitched the arrow into it with the silliest smile splashed upon his face.

I couldn't contain my laughter at the sight, is that flirting?

He gestured for me to take the creations.

My happiness cooled to a giggle. "Thank you."

And at that, he bowed and left, cloaked in a puff of smoke. The experience left me buzzing with happiness. Although... isn't that more of a magician thing?

* * *

><p>"Nope," a boy with long purple hair said when I asked if Sonoko had visited Game on Game. "Name's Hakudoshi. I hear a lot of things." He smirked, shuffling game coins in his hand. "Although, my memory could be better refreshed with some spare change."<p>

"Lighten up," A spiky yellow haired guy came up, and gave Hakudoshi an abrupt pat on the back. "Pleasure to meet ya," he directed at me. "I'm Demyx, at your service."

"I'm—"

"Keiko, right?" A girl asked as she approached with a friend. "My name's Akane." She bowed. Akane had short, tomboyish black hair, similar to her friend. Except, I couldn't help but notice keychains they wore on their belts. Akane's appeared to be a yellow kettle, while her friend had what looked like a shuriken.

"The name's Yuffie," her friend chimed. "See that person mentioned someone like you while we were waiting in line for a game." She handed me a bag. "Left that behind, I couldn't believe it, looks important."

"Oh, I know who you're talking about!" Demyx exclaimed. "That person was so noisy too. Said something about a Professor."

"Really?!" I asked.

They nodded, each with varying levels of shock to my reaction.

"Thanks!" I waved goodbye, and sprinted out the door.

What else could it possibly be? A prank with the worst timing ever? I shouldn't put it past Sonoko, but it's not like I can eliminate the possibility either.

Without hesitation I barged into Agasa's home.

And "**Surprise!**" is what chorused from all inside.

I fell back against the door, their loud volume enough to send me staggering, since everyone I knew from this little town of Beika managed to get themselves into Agasa's home today.

They tossed confetti and streamers in moments later, shouting, "happy birthday!"

All eagerly awaited my response, but my heart needed a second to catch up. "You all knew?"

"Shinichi might have reminded us," Ran admitted. "The whole treasure hunt was his idea."

"Treasure?"

"What you're holding," Sonoko pointed to the bags. "Those are your birthday presents from me, Ran, and Shinichi."

"This junk of yours I've been collecting?" Emotions welled in my throat. "I-it's not junk? It's not yours? It's..." overwhelming tears of joy gathered at my lashes. "I don't know what to say. Y-you guys..."

"Don't cry." Sonoko gripped me by the shoulders. "How are we going to get any good pictures if your stupid face gets stuck like that?"

"That whole chase got me so mad at you." I tapped her cheek, blubbering out the words as I did. "Now I can't even slap you."

Sonoko rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah."

Once Ran and Sonoko pulled me together, and convinced me that, "yes, this is happening," I opened the presents. Which consisted mostly of clothes and cards. Yep. Simple. But really awesome, considering my personal wardrobe only contained three outfits even when mix-matched. Yay for clothes!

I hugged the gifts, and sighed contentedly. "Thank you so much everybody."

Sonoko and Ran, already raiding the cake, took a second to acknowledge me with a nod and a smile over their shoulders.

"Where's Shinichi?" I asked.

Agasa paused mid-bite to point at the indoor balcony. "Up there."

All by his lonesome, I caught Shinichi stargazing out the window. Crosslegged, so I did the same.

Since the gifts I received today ranged from frills to skirts, I had to ask, "Which present was from you?" A grin spread across his face once I did.

Shinichi readily extracted an item from his pocket. "Here."

I took it with question. "A phone?" A small green cell, although, I've never really asked or stated a need for one.

"On your next birthday, instead of going on a wild goose chase, you can just call." He smirked as it's use dawned on me. "Also, with the amount of contact you keep regularly with your parents, I think this will prove to be important."

"It will actually." I shook my head in good-nature. "Unbelievable. You got me something I didn't even know I wanted." Unable to contain the happiness, I pounced him into a hug. "Thanks! That's really sweet."

He nearly went off balance, but managed to return the embrace before I let go.

"I'm curious though, what's with all those people? Introductions here and there, I went with it, but it still doesn't make sense..."

"They're various clients who owe me favors." Shinichi methodically twirled a finger, as if writing on the air. "Any chance you remember their names?"

"From start to finish it felt so odd, how could I forget?"

"Then take the first letter of each of their names, and put them together."

_Let's see... Hinata and Asuna, _"H, A." _Paul,_ "P." _Piccolo, _"P." _Yellow, _"Y." _Byakuya, Ichigo, and Rukia,_ "B, I, R." _Terra, _"T." _Hakudoshi, Demyx, Akane, and Yuffie. _"H, D, A, Y." And then it clicked.

Shinichi gave me the warmest of smiles. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you." The thought of it all coming together built a bubble of excitement within me. "Wow, you- you really know how to celebrate! Want to help me plan something for Christmas?"

"That's it for me." Shinichi sprawled onto the floor, eye's closed, mock-passing out.

"Aw, don't quit here." I shook him. "Eat some cake. It'll perk ya right up." Nothing. "Hey, what about you, what do you want for your birthday? Shinichi? I don't think I can outdo this! Shinichi? Hey. Shinichi! What should I do, Shinichi?!"

Shinichi broke his façade to laugh at my efforts. He bunched my lanyard into his fist, and pulled me down, so that we hovered inches away from one another. I hardly caught my breath before the most mischievous look came over him. "Surprise me."

* * *

><p>AN

For those that have seen the Desperate Revival arc, this is kind of redundant, but 110 is the emergency number in Japan.

Also, if anyone can name the characters who made a cameo here, I'll reward you with a spoiler? Or... (what do people like here?) oh! I could drop a review on a story of your choosing, or PM something nice?


	12. Countdown the Memories

[Shinichi's POV]

New Year's Eve. Firecrackers. Food. Bright lights. And bursts of enthusiasm.

I yawned.

People celebrate the birth of a new year as if it's physically beginning again, when in reality, time ebbs and flows without our marking it's passing. It is an estimate in and of itself. And New Years is no different. It's basically another day. Just noisier.

"Shinichi!" Keiko shouted as I stepped out the front door, her fingers fervently gripping the front gate.

Feet firmly on the ground, and hands fixed, she looked like she'd been there awhile. So I had to ask, "have you been waiting for me to... casually walk out?"

"No... maybe." She kicked the ground. "Why should I admit that to you?" Then pointed at the professors. "I was at Agasa's. He said we could have a New Year's party!" She bounced excitedly from foot to foot. "Wanna help set up?"

"You've got to be joking..."

"Is this a joking matter?"

When I swung the gate open she scattered a handful of confetti before me.

"Come on, get psyched!" Keiko chirped in an attempt to incite. "We're gonna have fun! Look. I've already got party hats." Keiko strained her arms to get one of those silly cones onto my head, with a sigh I humored her, and leaned down to accept the gift. "There's enough for everyone."

I slipped it off, a flurry of sparkles raining down as I did. A rolled up slip of copy paper, splashed in differing shades blue. Dripping with enough makeshift material to put preschoolers to shame. "Did you make these?"

"How'd you know?"

"The hurricane of glitter..."

Keiko patted the fallen specks from my shirt. "There. Now get these." She handed over two lists. "One's for Ran and Sonoko. Tell them the party starts in three hours. I'm gonna be decorating!"

Her pep elicited a grin from me. "Don't get too excited."

She flinched to a neutral expression. "I won't. And don't forget, three hours!" Keiko raced back to Agasa's, tripping violently in the process.

"...adding bandages to the list."

* * *

><p>Lately, Keiko grabs any chance she can to get out, actively avoiding staying home at all costs. New Year's is no exception. Speaking of which, Megure promised he wouldn't call in to ask about cases for the holiday. "It can wait," he said, "relax, and have fun!" What a bummer. <em>My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation.<em> Then again, understanding a detectives nuances might be a job best left in Sherlock's hands.

I glanced at the list. Cups. Plates. Candy—how vague. Guess Keiko didn't feel like specifying. Although, she's never been picky on the topic of sweets. I laughed at the thought. Keiko's such a kid, easy to shop for, easy to figure out. Then how energetic she gets. Never a dull moment.

Ran stepped out of her home when I arrived.

"Morning, Shinichi," Ran greeted.

"Hey, Ran."

Kogoro's voice carried through the open door. "Is that your wannabe detective friend?"

Ran squeezed the doorknob. "Geez, Dad. Couldn't you try to use his name at least once?"

"Not until—"

Ran slammed the door, then instantly smiled once it quieted. "You know it's New Years Eve, right?"

_Yes. And with the caseload I'd been given yesterday, I'd have liked to sleep in but_, "I've been assigned a task. As have you." I handed her a list. "Keiko wants us to gather supplies for a get together at Agasa's in three hours."

Ran chuckled.

"What?"

"You? New Years?"

"What?" My eyebrow twitched impatiently. She's teasing. "It's a holiday, I know."

"No, if I'd asked you a year ago to attend a New Years party, you wouldn't even consider showing up."

"So? Your point?"

"Well, let's see. What could have changed your opinion? One thing different about this year than the last is a certain-" she smirked. "-girl. Who gives you smiles, and laughs, and jokes, and secrets. The same you give to her."

"That—" I could feel my face overheating. "Have you been spying on us?"

Ran practically beamed at my reaction. "It doesn't take a spy to see the infection. An infection you two share that's bringing you closer and closer till—"

"Now it's an infection." I interrupted. "What are you getting at?"

She walked past me. "If you don't get it, I'm not going to force the answer into your head. Think about this though, what if she left tomorrow?"

"She is leaving tomorrow. The Track Tournament, remember?"

"For good," Ran reinstated. "If you could no longer see her after tomorrow, what would you do today?"

Imagining the scenario made me hesitate. "S-stupid, why would I even want to think about that?" So, I walked away, giving her a wave over my shoulder, saying, "don't forget to tell Sonoko."

[Meanwhile]

Sonoko exited the Agency once Shinichi left, sarcastically stating, "isn't he fun?"

"Infection. Affection." Ran shrugged. "What's the difference?"

"Something like the sky and ground to him."

"Ah, they're so slow! If they're going to spend so much time together, how hard is it to see the next step?!"

"Why try? I think it's better that she suffers the life of a single woman. The heartaches, the searching, where will my love lead me?!" Sonoko wavered dramatically. Then defaulted back to norm and said, "I'll be at Agasa's."

"No, you need to help me get food and drinks."

Sonoko continued down the sidewalk.

Ran hooked her arm. "Cooperate, or you're holding all the groceries."

"Yes ma'am..."

* * *

><p>[Shinichi's POV]<p>

The setting sun. Blue contrasting against pink, a mix of cotton candy in atmospheric color. As Keiko occasionally points out the hue of the sky, I can't help but notice it myself. A secondary habit. As she stares to keep track of her nightly curfew, which brings me to check for her when she forgets.

A crowd passed by, all in kimonos and smiles. Right. Isn't that where the New Years celebration is typically held? Temples full of attractions, activities, and tourists.

I lifted my bag of supplies. Keiko's attempt to mimic a New Years celebration, while enjoyable, is a shadow of what she truly wishes to do. After all the times she's spoke about how exciting it is to visit a temple during this time, she settles for this little party of her own.

Of course, the temple's New Years celebration takes place at midnight, and for her traveling about these the darkened streets is taboo.

_I wonder how it feels to be bound to daylight? _I shook my head. _Whatever the case, I doubt Keiko's in any real danger. A detective isn't required to see she's not even trying to hide, so why does Wendell pretend to search for her? Or is he aware that the FBI is attempting to lure him out with such obvious bait, and doesn't want to let on that he's knows of their trap? In that case, it's a façade on both ends. However, façades aside, Wendell's endgame must be something else entirely or he would have found a way to take her by now, but what could that be?_

After stepping inside, my eyes needed a moment to soak in the interior of Agasa's home. Really. One big colorful mess. Streamers twined in streamers hanging from any available edge and corner. Glitter, balloons in places they shouldn't be, and confetti. Everywhere.

The clean-up crew has my condolences.

"Shinichi!" Keiko herded me down the stairs. "Check it out!"

In the basement a shower of silly string greeted us. Along with laughs from Sonoko, Ran, and Agasa who seemed more than happy to douse us in it. Keiko giggled, enjoying their attack. But I had to retaliate, and aimed the nearest available can at them. However, the spray exploded at the nozzle, effectively leaving me defenceless.

Keiko grabbed a can near the entrance, like I did, and pointed it at me. Yet when she sprayed it recreated the same effect, covering her in a burst of silly string as it did me.

As she laughed, the meaning hit me. _Oh? So she planned this?_ A smile crept across my face. "You must think you're clever."

Keiko innocently rolled the can in her hands. "I only think I'm clever if you think I'm clever. Do you think I'm clever?"

Although the others watched our interactions with knowing looks, I couldn't help but laugh and say, "naturally."

* * *

><p>"Sonoko, truth or dare?" Ran asked after we settled in a circle on the living room floor.<p>

"Dare."

"I dare you to-" She shuffled through her bag, producing a tube of lipstick. "-put makeup on anyone in the room. Blindfolded."

Sonoko narrowed her eyes. "You're gonna regret it."

Yep. Instant regret. Obviously Sonoko ruined it on purpose when she applied lipstick to Ran's forehead; vaguely spelling _Oops_.

"Okay, Ran," Sonoko said, stifling a laugh. "Truth or dare?"

With the last one backfiring, Ran's confident streak faded fast. "Truth?"

"What is one thing you have done which you never ever want to be caught doing?"

Ran twirled her hair in thought. "...I- I'm going to play it safe and say showering..."

Sonoko raised a brow. "Smooth."

"My turn." Keiko announced. "So, Shinichi, truth or dare?"

Ran shook her head from behind Sonoko's back. Yeah. I wasn't feeling daring anyway. "Truth."

That seemed to throw her. Keiko paused a second to think up, "what's the most embarrassing thing you've ever asked someone?"

As a detective, I'm sure her imagination is brimming with weird questions I've had to ask. However, what came to mind first was, "we were on a plane." Everyone leaned in, but really, there's a reason my voice hushed. "I asked Ran if I could see her bra."

"You did what?!" Keiko and Sonoko chorused between giggles.

"I remember!" Ran exclaimed. "Geez. You could have worded that better."

"It was for the case!" My cheeks felt scorched. "Besides, you're my childhood friend, wouldn't it be weirder to ask a stranger if bra's still had wires?!"

They laughed, all except Keiko, who appeared to be an odd mix of uncertainty and distress.

I elbowed her. "What?"

"Nothing," she responded.

Well, I shrugged, my turn. "Keiko, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Wise choice. What else could she possibly tell me? "Who in this room would you rather be marooned on an island with?"

Keiko gave me a wry smile. "Everyone would give the same answer to that."

They each chimed, "Shinichi."

Keiko's answer I understood, but everyone else? "Me?"

"You know a ton of random skills." Keiko poked my forehead. "You wouldn't survive on a island, you'd flourish. Not to mention you would more than likely find a way to return to the mainland before anything even became an issue."

"Only for my knowledge?" I zeroed in on Keiko. "Nothing else?"

"Sure. Why not?"

The worst part is that she genuinely didn't understand. Then as if that wasn't bad enough, Ran chose me next turn, and my choice for a dare turned into me putting on cosmetics.

"You girls degrade me..." I muttered. "We need another man in this group."

Keiko rubbed my back. "I still believe you're a dude."

"You're not helping..."

"Keiko," Sonoko called after sharing a wink with Ran. Not a good sign. "Truth or dare?"

Keiko glanced at Ran then me, the makeup dares may have upped her confidence level. "Dare."

"I dare you to kiss a guy in this room!"

Keiko stared at my eyeshadow, and decorated lips while asking, "where do you see one?"

"Seriously!" I shouted. "Not helping!"

A reddish hue blossomed on her cheeks. "In this room?"

"In this room," Ran assured.

"Sonoko, could you be gender confused for a few seconds?"

"Nope." Sonoko scooted away. "One-hundred percent women, and it will never change!"

Keiko came back at me. I flushed. She inched forward till our knees touched. Sonoko and Ran leaned in for a better view. Oh, no. The closer she got, the clearer I could see it as reality. Her lips smudged with lipstick from a mans mouth, how humiliating.

Suddenly Keiko leapt up and urgently called, "Professor!"

Agasa stumbled up the stairs, blurting, "what is it?"

Keiko strode over and planted one right on his cheek. "That's it." She smiled. "Thank you, Professor."

He held his cheek, blushing. "You're, um, welcome?" With that Agasa returned down the stairs, but not before giving Ran and I a few questionable looks.

Sonoko scowled. "You cheated."

"Nope." Keiko confidently crossed her arms. "And don't go making up rules."

I inwardly laughed despite a pang of disappointment. _Why didn't I think of that?_

* * *

><p>By Agasa's orders, and despite Sonoko's objections, we were all the clean up crew. No one had the heart to trash Keiko's handmade hats though, so we stored them in the cabinet.<p>

Ran checked her watch when we finished. "It's almost midnight."

"Almost?" I squinted at the clock. "We've still got a few hours."

"Yeah, but I have to get dinner ready for my dad."

Sonoko went for the door, saying, "if Ran's not staying, I'm out."

Keiko caught ear of their leaving, and rushed over to tell them, "thanks for coming!"

Ran chuckled at her enthusiasm. "No problem, I had fun."

Sonoko nodded. "Ditto."

As they passed through the door I caught glimpse of the night sky, predicted Keiko's next question, and said, "you can spend the night."

She leaned up to me, her hands behind her back. "What if I was gonna ask the Professor that?"

"You're not going to impose after a party."

She rolled her eyes. "Must you have a logical answer for everything?"

I smirked. "Should I answer that?"

Keiko paused, then muttered, "Bighead."

"Chibi."

She laughed, "hey!" while playfully pummeling me.

I grinned, catching her fists.

"Going to stay up for the countdown?" Professor Agasa asked as he approached us.

Keiko lit up. "Can we?!"

The caseload Megure had me do through the other night left a weariness that begged for sleep. But I guess a few hours wouldn't hurt, that is, "if you can last that long."

"Can you?" She retorted.

_Of course she would ask..._

* * *

><p>With an "OK" from her parents, Keiko joyfully escorted me home. However, moments later, any trace of happiness vanished as she said, "two hours left."<p>

"Is that a bad thing?" I took her hand and tugged her toward the kitchen. "Make tea if you're sleepy."

"It's not that." She swung my hand. "It's... my tournament takes place the same day you and Ran go to Tropical Land, and since I won't be here to go, I'd hoped we could go somewhere grand before I left..."

"Your bodyguard wouldn't approve of us going out at this time."

She dropped my hand. "Thought so..."

Keiko's hopes plunged so easy, my own began to fall as well. So, I proposed an alternative. "We could runaway."

Her head shot up.

"Out the back door. Over the wall." With an extended hand my invitation became her decision. "Any efforts that bodyguard puts into protecting you, I promise to double them."

She hesitated, clenching her hands at the air between us.

So my own began to lower. "However my words are meaningless unless you trust me."

Keiko took the offer, and our fingers locked as she stood at my side. "You've never handed out empty promises. Of course I trust you. I trust you with my life... but I don't trust myself." She shook her head. "Who's to say you won't get in trouble if I'm caught?"

I tossed the idea in my head for a bit and said, "then we'll be in trouble together." A smile spread over her face as one found it's way onto mine. "Besides, where's the fun in going down alone?"

With a bit more pep she asked, "we dig our own graves?"

"And crawl out together!"

We bent into ourselves laughing, then after disguising Keiko with a hat, we cheerfully blundered into the night.

* * *

><p>When we arrived Keiko's firecracker of euphoria proved this risky trip more than worth it. The New Years festival. Traditional food at every turn, toys, and games. Despite our pocket money she wanted to play them all.<p>

Then our stomachs growled.

"We neglected dinner," I despaired, yet her gaze raked over the game stalls with growing excitement. So, I added, "stand in line for something while I get us something to eat."

She readily wandered off. "Get something we can share!"

[Author's POV]

Keiko stood before the first interesting game she found, patiently allowing others to pass in line as she waited for Shinichi.

"Give up already!" The only guy in line shouted to a boy playing Kingyo Sukui at the next stall over. The boy tensed, an empty bowl in one hand, and a partially broken poi in the other. "You're not going to get any, so let me play already!"

"Lay off him," Keiko commanded. "These games are meant to be enjoyed. To relax. Rushing doesn't help."

The guy scowled. "This is his third try, and he's got nothing. He should learn when to **give up**."

The boy flinched.

Keiko stepped into the space between them. Deciding that the target of his insults should be anything other than the child, and invaded his personal bubble to declare, "or maybe some junior high schooler should learn not to pick on a person half his age."

"What did you say?" The guy, while he appeared younger than Keiko, was definitely taller as he towered over. "Mind your own business. I'm in high school."

Keiko upturned her nose. "I was commenting on your emotional, not intellectual level."

He shoved her back, creating space between them. "The last thing I need right now is some shrimp talking down to me."

"How am I talking down to you?" She airily asked, purposefully ignoring his brutish conduct. "Nothing I've said is an insult; simply facts about your person. You're impatient, immature—" He threw a punch. Keiko countered with an open handed swipe along the inside of his wrist. Pushing the force of his attack out by scraping the inside of his arm away with her own in a swift fan-waving movement. Redirecting the momentum of his fist to rest at the open air beside her head. In the moment it took for him grasp the situation, Keiko completed her sentence. "—and impetuous."

"You..." he gritted his teeth, throwing another punch, only to have it end in the same result. The guy roughly exhaled, veins popping, now thoroughly infuriated by her antics. Up, down, left, right, he tossed punches. Only to be deflected at every turn. Now relaxed in what to expect, Keiko easily went through the maneuvers. Till he decided to add an upwards kick. She saw it coming, yet couldn't switch stances fast enough, and braced herself for impact.

Suddenly, Shinichi hooked his leg over the guy's kick, blocking, and pulling it away. Immediately throwing the guy off balance, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Shinichi, irritated and holding a bowl of takoyaki, told him, "that's enough."

The guy stood and dusted himself off while glaring between Shinichi and Keiko. He jerked his head, muttering an insult below his breath, before walking away.

Keiko knelt down to ask the child, "need help?" once the guy left.

The boy timidly avoided her approach. "Maybe." His head fell. "Thank you for getting rid of that bully."

Keiko nodded and inviting opened her palm. The boy handed over a new poi. Keiko rolled up her jacket sleeves and said, "let's see." She waved a hand over the water. "You wanna go for the lazy ones. Scare them a bit, see who's slower, and how late they react."

Shinichi watched over her shoulder, rolling his eyes over the fact that Keiko has 'skills' in such a game.

"Keep the bowl close to the water," and he did. "Then when you scoop a fish up, make sure it's close to the surface. Also don't go too fast or too slow. The poi will break. Go at a leisurely pace at a slanted angle and—" Keiko swept the poi under a goldfish. Pushed it into the bowl and, "—success!"

"Awesome!" The boy exclaimed.

"Here." Keiko returned the poi. "Try it. Might not be so hard now."

He enthusiastically nodded. "Yeah! Thanks!" Then gazed upon the fish with anxious hands.

Keiko guided Shinichi to a line at the neighboring stall she chose earlier, snatching a takoyaki with a toothpick from him as she did.

"So," Shinichi began.

Keiko gulped, nervously averting her eyes.

"What was that?"

"A... uhm." She forced a smile. "Thank you for intervening." Knowing how offtrack his mind goes when doused in praise she'd hoped he'd forget.

Yet he elbowed her, saying, "Wing Chun Kung Fu, right? Exactly when did you have the time to learn that?"

"Ran's got this friend." Keiko absently twirled her fingers around one another. "She noticed my stamina on the field, and asked if I wanted to do something with my extra energy. She taught me some defensive moves. We've practiced for a few weeks now, but I really only know how to deflect. Ya see, she's trying to figure out how to break a Wing Chun defence with Karate since she participates in mixed martial arts tournaments."

"That's all well and good." Shinichi narrowed his eyes. "But I meant the fight. I saw how it began. The way you spoke egged him on. You wanted him to hit you."

She crossed her arms. "He was picking on that child, what else was I suppose to do? Besides, Ran says it's important to have these skills. Ya never know when you'll need 'em."

He shook his head, sampling the takoyaki. "The difference between you and Ran is that she'll quell a fight, while you instigate it. There are better ways to handle these types of situations, Keiko."

Keiko huffed. "You do it your way, and I'll do it mine."

"Geez." He ruffled her hair out of frustration. "You're getting hardheaded."

"Kinda like looking in the mirror?" She remarked.

"**Next!**" The man at the cork gun stall impatiently announced. "Two at a time," he said, handing out rifles as they sheepishly took their positions. "It's loaded with three corks. Whatever you manage to knock over, you keep."

"Right," they acknowledged, and fired simultaneously. Both missing in their haste.

Shinichi and Keiko exchanged amused glances before focusing on their next target. Keiko aimed for something small. A candle. And shot, only to have Shinichi's cork knock it over first. She rolled her eyes as he chuckled.

"Had to knock it over before I did?" Keiko asked, aiming high for a bigger prize.

"Why not?" Shinichi replied, mimicking her.

So she pulled right, yet he followed. Keiko shook her head, laughing. "Grow up!"

"Hey," inadvertently, he began cracking up as well, "I'm sixteen!"

Despite her spasmodic movements in the midst of a laughing fit he continued his game of follow the leader. Causing her to shout, "no, you're six!"

At which point Keiko accidently fired, bringing Shinichi to do the same and, "we have a winner!" The stall keeper declared.

Shinichi blinked. "What'd we win?"

As Keiko dissolved into a puddle of giggles.

* * *

><p>"And how do we celebrate New Years Eve?" Keiko enthused as she applied a flower to Shinichi's nose. "With a childs stickerbook!"<p>

"Give me that." Shinichi reached, yet she jumped away. "I can't believe we shot that down. What kind of prize is this?"

"Dunno. But hey." Keiko pulled forth their other prize. "Got a candle."

The two settled hillside, a grassy area optimal for viewing the upcoming New Years fireworks, with the candle lit between them.

However, insecurity created a nest in Keiko's heart, building since their game of Truth or Dare. So, the question came all too easily.

"Shinichi?" Once she had his attention, she asked, "what am I to you?"

Shinichi drew a blank. "To me?"

"Yeah, I— I mean, you Ran and Sonoko. Ya'll got somethin' special. Childhood friends is... um..." She faced away, toward the sky. "I'm sorry. Nevermind, it's—"

Suddenly, the crowds broke into a disjointed cry of, "10!"

Shinichi watched her struggling through the noise. So, he halted her words with some of his own. "Our relationship isn't dictated by labels."

Keiko honed in on his ambiguous answer, willing him to elaborate as the people continued to chant, "9!"

Shinichi shrugged. "I'm not sure what you want me to say specifically. (8!) Putting a name on what we have doesn't feel right. (7!) I'm sure you know how I feel, but if you want an idea. (6!) As childhood friends, Ran and Sonoko catch details about me through our lives together. (5!) While you know about me because I want you to. And I feel safe doing so, (4!) because we don't judge each other based on our secrets."

Keiko softened, a smile lighting her features. "True, but it's not like I expect you not to judge me. That's inevitable. (3!) We form opinions despite ourselves. However, (2!) I can say that I trust you to know who I am, yet somehow accept me anyway."

Shinichi reached for Keiko's hand resting on her lap, and curled his pinky around hers. "Is that a promise?"

Keiko squeezed back, "yeah," and leapt forward on 1. Enveloping one another in an embrace as she shouted, "**Happy New Year!**"

* * *

><p>[Shinichi's POV]<p>

Keiko didn't bother showering when we returned. She simply collapsed on my bed, and refused to move. Now past the point of exhaustion, sleeping elsewhere for me wouldn't cut it. So, I pushed her aside and tried to make myself comfortable. Which proved to be impossible. For decency sake I laid opposite, with my head resting at the foot of the bed, but that wasn't the problem.

She kept making noises, like breathing. The oil her skin produced naturally illuminated her features in the moonlight. In other words; she's practically _glowing._ Why is this so fascinating? I turned over, then turned back. Her presence begged my attention. But I don't care if she's unconscious, it's weird to just _stare!_ I had to keep occupied.

I rolled out of bed to find the stickerbook we won earlier. And took a few googly eyeballs then applied them to Keiko's eyelids. If I had to stare, might as well have an excuse. And what better excuse than a good old fashion prank?

Except, she didn't wake up. Suppressed laughs racked my body at the sight.

Suddenly in too deep, I continued applying various stickers, yet got no more from her than a hitch of breath. So, after chuckling louder than I should have, I began removing them. Now scared she'd actually wake up and find out the entire stickerbook went to her face. But before all that, I snapped a picture.

My phone's been needing a new background.

* * *

><p>As Keiko's household did some last minute packing. I occupied myself with a newspaper in hand. Kaito Kid painted all over the headline immediately irked my thoughts. This marks the second time he's struck on a holiday, the first being Keiko's birthday. A jewelry store had been his target, very near the path that I had set Keiko on. Where she was also suppose to meet a mime named Tobi, not Terra. The first letter of his name did align with my plan, but a little too well, like this impostor knew he was toying with me. Therefore, if this Terra is who I'm imagining, than the proverbial stick he's poking me with is a childish tactic, yet sadly, very him.<p>

"My face feels weird..." Keiko admitted.

"Really?" I asked. Stifling a laugh as she felt over her cheeks and nose.

Her parents slamming the car door jarred Keiko to attention. "Anyway I, um, guess this is goodbye."

"We won't be apart long enough this to be goodbye." I worked up a smile. "It's: I'll see you later. You excelled in the preliminaries. So it won't take long for you outrun the competition. Then I'll come see you win the finals."

Despite my words Keiko wavered, her eyes asking more questions than she could voice aloud. "Promise?"

"Promise."

A gentle pink painted itself across Keiko's features. She threw her arms around me and murmured, "see ya later then."

I returned the embrace. "Yeah."

Agasa cleared his throat, blushing. "_Ahem._"

"You two embarrass me," Sonoko scoffed, adorning pinkening cheeks alongside a flustered Ran.

When Keiko jumped into the car they shouted, "do your best!" As Sonoko added, "leave no survivors!"

"It's a race, not a fight," Keiko told her, laughing.

"Oh, yeah," Sonoko snapped her fingers. "I've gotten so used to seeing Ran's competitions. Still," she shot a thumbs-up, "I expect the same out of you."

"I'll see what I can do." Keiko rolled her eyes with a smirk. The car took off, then with a wave out the window Keiko shouted, "see you all later!"

They yelled, "see you!" as the car receded into the distance.

Leaving old troubles behind, and starting endeavors anew. "Happy New Year," I spoke aloud as the countdown for her return began.

* * *

><p>AN

Kingyo Sukui, otherwise known as Goldfish Scooping, is a popular game in Japan. Usually found at festivals, players receive a bowl and a poi at the start. (A poi looks similar to a bubble wand, but with rice paper inside the frame.) Using the poi, players must scoop a goldfish from the tank, into their bowl to win.

The next game they played, players usually get guns resembling a shot gun. The Guns shoot corks or pellets, and players must use this to knock over a pyramid of prizes, of which, they can choose from.

Takoyaki, or octopus balls, are round wheat/flour-based batter snacks with octopus in the center. Usually eaten with toothpicks, they're actually quite tasty.


	13. Bye Old, Hello New?

Home sweet home. Yep, that's right, Osaka. I told Mom and Dad how I wanted to participate in the annual Track Tournament, and they agreed, but it's held in a different school each round. So, instead of wasting money going in and out of Beika, we decided to stay in the center of it all at my old home in Osaka! I'm pumped, not just for the race, but for the nostalgia. Back in my own home, my old neighborhood, and maybe I'll even find my old childhood friends. It's been about four years since I left, how sad, we missed our chance to go through puberty together. That must've been a riot.

I inhaled the aroma of a new school, "Ekoda High School," After tying on a sweatband, it was time for some good stretches.

This Tournament is actually just a Cross Country thing, all running, no field work. The people that sponsor this event named it The Track Tournament, which is kind of off putting, but I'm not complaining. Running is my forte.

"Amazing," A guy marveled from the stands, "So many girls in one place, and with such nice figures!" he squirmed, "Christmas comes early this year."

_This guy..._ My thoughts wandered, _he should get out more often._

"Oh, I caught someone's attention," He spotted me and jumped onto the field. "Wanna see a magic trick?" he grinned.

I gasped, he looked an awful lot like Shinichi, "Sure," but something else about him seemed to nag the back of my mind as well.

"Keep your eye on the dice," he set out three cups, placed a die under two of the cups, then spun them around, "now which one doesn't have a die?"

"Um," I picked the middle cup.

"Correct!" he lifted all the cups to reveal both dice were missing.

"Whoa, how'd you do that?!"

He chuckled triumphantly as a messy haired girl approached us, she spat out her tongue and upon it was one the missing dice.

Me and a few others clapped, "Good show!"

"Kaito~~!" She upraised an angry fist, "What did I say about using me in your magic tricks?!"

"Aw, come on Aoko, why can't you just play along?" Kaito reached behind her ear, and pulled out the other die, "See?"

"Oooh~ encore!" we applauded.

"Thank you~" he bowed, "but please, praise my lovely assistant!"

The other runners joined me for another round of applause.

Aoko blushed, "We-well, I-"

"And for the finally!" Kaito draped a cover over her body, then pulled it away to reveal Aoko in a new form-fitting costume, "Now, ladies and gentlemen, I run." he darted across the field.

"Bakaito!" Aoko chased him, wearing a track outfit similar to my own, and a strong blush.

Then it was just me and my thoughts, _Where do I remember him from~?_ A light-bulb lit, _that mime in front of the jewelry store! But he said his name was Terra_, I watched Kaito scale a fence with Aoko in hot pursuit. _Now that I think about it, Shinichi said that jewelry store was robbed by Kaito Kid on the same day_, Aoko caught Kaito, then what took place next was a great, indescribable horror, _Nah, it's not him..._ I wryly thought.

* * *

><p>After each race, competitors are given a three day resting period. There's not much to do though, besides train. Jogging each morning, and simple exercises, it takes a menial amount of effort so I don't overexert myself for the real thing.<p>

I'm missing school for this event, yay! But while the break is refreshing, I'm gonna hit a wall with the homework load that's slowing piling up. Each Friday a book report is due. Each Monday a chemistry observation is turned in. And every Wednesday the teacher wants math homework to be finished. Somehow, my thoughts were swirling into a downward spiral, then my phone rang.

Ran's name flashed on the screen so I answered, "Hey Ran!"  
>"Keiko! How's the competition?"<p>

"Hehe, I'm winning of course. Oh, how was Tropical Land? You two went, right?"

Ran sighed, "That was ages ago, but it was a disaster! A guy was murdered right in front of me."  
>"I wish I could say I'm surprised... Shinichi find the killer?"<p>

"Naturally, but afterwords he just disappeared."

"Disappeared? Disappeared how?"

"Agasa says he's away on a case, but it's a bit strange. Shinichi hasn't shown up for school or anything."

"No wonder he hasn't called- wait, you haven't heard **anything** about Shinichi since then?"

"Um, not that I can think of."

"Wha-? It's been weeks. Normal people consider him missing by now!"

"Whoa, calm down, yeah its a little weird, but I think if Agasa is sure about this then Shinichi is okay."

"Then I'm gonna talk to Agasa real quick. Talk to ya later!"

"Okay, bye~!"

After filling my lungs to max capacity, I exhaled a soothing breath, "Maybe, I'm overreacting?" My eyes blankly studied the cell Shinichi gave me. "If I hear his voice once, that'll make it okay," I called Shinichi's cell. Five tries and no answer. "I wanted to hear Shinichi's voice, his darn answering message doesn't count!"

So, I called Agasa.

A girl answered the phone, "Hello?" and it definitely wasn't anyone I know.

"...Professor?" I quizzically replied.

She pulled the receiver away, "Professor, it's for you."

"Yes?" Agasa picked up.

"...Am I interrupting something...?"

"No, not at all. The girl just now was Ai, she's a child I'm looking after for a friend."

"You? Looking after a child?"

"...She's very well behaved..."

"Anyway, I called cause Shinichi isn't picking up his phone, I've already left so many messages... Do you know anything?

"Ah, well, Shinichi's been away on a case."

"That's what Ran said you told her. Professor, have you actually seen him? I think something's seriously wrong. He's not going to school, he's not home. You're his neighbor, don't you think that by now he's missing? Maybe we should ask the police-"

"Th- that's not necessary! Shinichi's just fine. I've seen him a bunch of times, and he's been okay. As a matter of fact, I'm looking right at him-" Agasa caught his breath.

"The put him on," I urged.

"I can't! He- he's on the toilet."

"...Professor, are you watching him-"

"No! He just stepped in the restroom is what I mean!"

As the Professor rambled on excuses, I came upon a heart aching epiphany, "Agasa! If he's not there you don't lie about it! Darn it! If-if I was there, this would be so much easier! ...And to think, I had no idea anything was wrong before today, now I can't even figure out what the heck is going on!" Tears stung through my eyes, I was scared, not being there, not being able to check things for myself reminded me of the time before Grandma went away.

Agasa sighed, "Keiko... I.. I- um.."

Like a passing breeze, Agasa's voice left and another picked up, "What's the matter with you? Can't a guy go to the bathroom in peace?"

"Shinichi?"

"Obviously!"

"...Thank goodness... Wait, why didn't you call? Geez, I got all worked up for nothing."

"It's not like I didn't want to... I..." Shinichi paused. His voice was suddenly so distant, almost like he regretted this conversation.

"Whatever, I'm just happy to hear your voice."

"Keiko.."

"Yep, you sound as goofy as I remember," I chuckled.

Shinichi laughed, "You and I obviously hear things very differently."

"Then how about some Karaoke? We'll see who's goofier then."

"Okay." Shinichi quelled his laugh, "So, have you been well?"

"Yep! I'm as fit as a fiddle! The competition gets tougher as I move up the ranks, but they're still no match."

A smile carried through his tone, "That's good."

We talked on for close to an hour. I didn't realize how much catching up we needed to do. There was something new in our conversation though, humor. Not the usually silly kind. An awkward, mood lightening kind. The kind I didn't like.

* * *

><p>It's comforting to see how some things never change. The trees have grown, flowers died, pets gone. However, the streets remain flat and guide me to all the old places, familiar corners still adorn scratches from the games we played as children, and houses inclose reminiscent faces.<p>

Roaming about this town, my ears wait, but no one calls out. Maybe it's the color of my hair, but I'm like a stranger. I've lived here for so long, I know so much about them, how could they label me as an outsider already? It's understandable, the empty gaze from the folks my parents knew, their eyes merely skimmed my face before, but where's somebody** I **used to know?

"Where'd that guy go?!" A girl marched the streets, shoulders tight, fists clenched. She was ready for a fight. Her hair tossed angrily to and fro, with a ribbon tying it up into a ponytail. A bouncy, evocative ponytail.

I conspicuously leaned against a wall, noticeably watching her, and even whistling suggestively when she passed by. My behavior was more than suspicious, the poor girl already had tunnel-vision, and a revenge centered mind. Scary.

I skipped up to her speed, following her, and whistling a tune. She slackened her pace, perhaps hoping that I would pass by. Nope. We kept at it, decelerating until we stopped.

She whirled around and glared at me, "Now, see here-!"

I waved, face beaming, as she processed the situation.

"K-Keiko?"

"K-Kazuha?" I playfully mimicked.

"You-" Kazuha bundled my hair between her fingers, "Highlights?"

"No, I dyed it completely blond, but it grew out so it's half old, half new. It doesn't seem-"

She reached out and squeezed me in her arms, "I've missed you!"

I hugged back, "I've missed you too."

"But, what happened, didn't you move to America?"

"Yes and no. My parents are, uh, there.. And I've been living in Beika with some relatives since about a year ago."

"Geez, then why didn't ya visit?"

I skittishly chuckled, "I was sorta preoccupied I guess," My eyes reflexively shot down as a question arose, "So, how's he been doing?"

"_He?_ ...Ah! That jerk!"

"...What?"

"He's got such nerve! Three days I've been searchin' for my lucky cup. And after three days I found it broken in the back of my underwear drawer!" Kazuha blushed.

"Um... are you upset that he broke your lucky cup? Or that he saw your panties?"

"Both!" she flushed.

"How do you know it was him?"

"He ran away when I pointed it out!"

Kazuha was getting worked up all over again, an attempt to coax her could help, "Maybe it broke by accident, and when he hid the remains, maybe he chose that drawer randomly?"

"I don't care! He didn't have to hide it! I might've forgiven him, but for him to _randomly_ put it there only makes things worse!"

I gave up, "Got it, I'll help ya search."

"Hmph, he's gonna pay," Kazuha trotted away with her wrath visibly resurfacing.

"Ouch," My mind pieced together the outcome of her retribution plan, "Oh, lots of ouch..."

A problem one faces when in the heat of emotion is rational thoughts. Rarely does one come to a sane conclusion with a fist of vengeance, and a mind full of rage. That's when you don't want, but need, a middle man... woman. Now, being the smart man that he his, he would hide, not run. Kazuha, being how she is, wouldn't think that he would be so dumb as to hide in all the obvious places, but that's exactly what makes them the perfect sanctuary's. Conclusion, he's probably in his own room.

My heart skipped a beat when his home came into view. Right inside is a reunion waiting to happen, but Kazuha comes first. Knocking would be a dead giveaway, so I let myself in, walked up to his room, and peaked inside.

"Huh?" I puzzlingly gasped. He wasn't there, why wasn't he there? My legs helped themselves and took me inside. Then butterflies cut loose in my stomach when all the old things came into view; hats, pictures, furniture. Even the smell remained the same. Specifically, one hat he always wore was just sitting around. I picked it up and toyed the fabric before trying it on.

"Ya know, some people get lice doin' that."

"AH!" the sudden intrusion made my feet jump.

He frowned, "I'm the one who should be shocked, a stranger tiptoeing to my room-" once we established eye contact, he crooked his head and stared for a good minute or two, "Keiko?"

"H-hey, Heiji," the corners of my lips twitched, endeavoring for a smile.

"Oh man!" he brought me in for a man hug, and patted my back with loving force, "How've ya been?! We haven't seen ya for years!" It had then occurred to me, after so long, Heiji still sees me as _one of the guys_. All those tomboy years, I regret them so...

"I've been good, same old me, ya know? As for you, I already heard about what happened from Kazuha."

"You heard? ...heard what?" He inched away.

"Really Heiji? Her cup, then the panty drawer."

"Ahh, that one," He nervously laughed, "Say Keiko, you're a girl too aren'tcha? How would ya want me to apologize?"

"A girl too... yes," I glowered upon his image of me, "Did ya see the rage she was in? You're gonna have to mean it."

"Anything's better than an impending concussion..."

* * *

><p>"This... I'm regrettin' this," Heiji glowered.<p>

We had gone out and bought Kazuha a cup with her name already printed on it.

"What's so bad about it?"

He showed me the bottom, "It says _**Love **_in bold letters," although his skin was tan, a shallow rush of red stained his cheeks.

"That's the brand name. Besides it'll be fine as long as she never decides to look at the bottom of it, just be happy we found it, her name it incredibly hard to find on stuff like that!"

Heiji stared at me.

"What?"

"Would you really want me to apologize like this?"

"No"

"Wha- then why?!"

"Cause it's nice to have a replacement. What you should really do is apologize like a man."

"How does one apologize **like** a man when one **is** a man."

I shoved him into Kazuha's doorway and rang the bell a few times, "Don't flinch, be sincere, and simply say; I'm sorry."

Luckily, Kazuha was the one to answer, although she wasn't too happy with what she saw, "Heiji, you-!"

"I'm sorry," Heiji sighed. He lifted the gift to her sights, and delighted sparkles flooded her eyes.

"You," she lost the words, good emotions fought off the bad, then happiness prevailed, "It's okay," she smiled.

Heiji secretly shot me a thumbs-up with childlike accomplishment beaming on his face. It was hard not to laugh, so I decided maybe it was time to head home.

"Keiko!" Kazuha stopped me, "Thanks for findin' him! You wanna come inside?"

"Uh, sure, and you're welcome."

* * *

><p>Catching up with Shinichi took awhile, but catching up with Heiji and Kazuha took the whole afternoon. Excluding my situation with Toreck, and a few other things, they got every detail from when I left to now. However, when I mentioned my new friends, they had something to say.<p>

"You know Ran?!" Kazuha rejoiced, "She's my friend too!"

"Whaat?!" I grinned, "That's so awesome! We all know each other!"

"Wait wait," Heiji stopped me, "who's this guy you keep mentioning?"

"Oh, his name's Kudo Shinichi! He's the greatest detective I know, and the sweetest," my cheeks warmed a bit.

"Kudo?!" they exasperated.

"That sneaky.." Heiji picked up his cell, after dialing some numbers, he paused, "The greatest," Heiji sarcastically repeated, along with a few muttered insults.

Me and Kazuha continued to converse, "The sweetest, huh?"

"I- uh, that... he's really nice..."

"Sure," Kazuha knowingly smiled.

Suddenly Heiji erupted, "Hey, Kudo, what the heck?! You never told me-"

We ignored him, then I posed a question, "You two really know Shinichi?"

"Yeah, I even met the guy once."

"No kidding."

"Not to mention how close Heiji is to the guy."

"They're friends too?"

"Yeah, they're like brothers," she laughed.

"How cute! Hey Heiji, let me speak to him real fast."

He pulled away, "Use your own phone."

"But you've already got him on the line."

Heiji turned back to the phone, "Huh? ...Yeah, that was Keiko... No... No, she's my childhood friend! I've got every right to- ... Fine! When you get here, you can do whatever you want!" Heiji slammed the phone shut. Then he pondered awhile, "Wait, what'd I call him for in the first place?"


	14. Limit

_So, a tell (As used in this chapter) is something someone does that gives away their lie. Also, my documents like to play games sometimes. If there's a random sentence, or weird paragraph ordering, please let me know -_-;;_

* * *

><p>Now, the final race is calling. After so much running, I'm surprised to have made it here, and it's in a stadium! An actual stadium, with spectators galore! Time flies when you're having fun, well <em>now<em> it's more precise to say I'm having twice as much fun. Heiji and Kazuha have been attending all my performances, cheering me on, embarrassing me, stealing my water bottles. But really, to think I could make it here. How long has it been two- three chapters? I mean... a few weeks, probably a little over a month?

Fellow competitors gathered with me inside the locker room. This is as final as final's going to get, we dressed, hydrated, and waited. If only the race came sooner. I felt it necessary to avoid eye contact with others at all costs, it seemed like all they wanted to do was glare. Although, the more daring searched for a clean way to disqualify the competition, the poor girl next to me had itching powder sprinkled into her uniform.

One woman in particular had chiseled manly features, and crazy muscles that intimidated all of us. Her intents were hazy by my eyes, but the fixed fury in her stare convinced me she was capable of random acts of violence. Contradicting to this, she was also mute and stagnant the whole time.

"You can't be serious..." One redheaded girl detached from a friendly crowd to confront me, "you're like half my height, not to mention those little chopstick legs. How on earth did you make it here?"

This girl practically towered over me, with long crimson hair tied into a ponytail, squinty eyes, nicely plucked brows to easily show sharp emotions, and primped lips. Everything about her was flawless actually, I sort of admired it. However, her personality swiftly tainted that image.

She was intentionally poking my nerves, hoping I would turn violent over a few petty words, like I would let her disqualify me so easily. so I turned a deaf ear. Not the best idea...

"Sachiko?!" she read my name printed on my uniform, "I see..."

Her unexpected exclaim quickly knitted my threads of memories together. Usagi Naka, I faced two of her sisters in the preliminary rounds and won. She didn't take too lightly to that.

She waved her friends closer, leaving me outnumbered for either a fight, or a verbal bashing. I had to escape, but Usagi wasn't going to let me by so easily. I examined the room and spotted a lone cup atop the lockers. Upon slamming my locker shut, the drink toppled, decorating Usagi's head beautifully with pulpy old orange juice.

Whatever warrior bond her and her groupie friends shared dissolved as they laughed away at misfortune.

"Whoops sorry!" I shouted before dashing through the door. After I was a good distance away there wasn't much to do besides wander the corridors. Usagi probably hit the showers, meaning I had time to spare.

"Keiko!" Heiji called.

I ran to him and spotted Kazuha by his side, "Hey~ y'all made it!"

"Wow, what an accent," Sonoko revealed herself.

"Geh, why are you here...?"

"We came to cheer you on!" Ran enthusiastically jumped.

"Yeah!" a group of children joined in her excitement.

"WHOA!" I bounced back. Then my gaze ping-ponged from the children, to Ran, back to the children, then to Sonoko, "It couldn't have been Ran... Sonoko, did you-?"

"No. Kick that idea to the farthest recesses of your mind."

"Alright..." then my heart overflowed with happiness, "we're all friends~!" I wrapped my arms around Kazuha, Ran, Heiji, and Sonoko. "I can't believe it! We all know each other, and I know all of you! Oh, we should go enjoy some ice cream together, shop, play games, eat, sleepovers, makeovers!"

"Whoa, count me out..." Heiji backed off.

"Guys can have makeovers... Hey, where's Shinichi?"

"A case," Sonoko shrugged as if to say **obviously**. "Geez, you think the guy would come to his own girl's crowning moment."

"His own-?" I flushed, "m-maybe he'll show up later?"

"Hm?" Heiji irritably inspected my rosy cheeks.

"What?"

"Heh, Keiko you're funny," one little girl giggled.

"Oh hey! I almost forgot you guys," I knelled down to the child's height, "I'm Sachiko Keiko, what's your names?"

A lean, freckle-faced boy smiled, "My name's Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko!"

The portly boy, with a small signature bald-spot, boasted, "I am Kojima Genta."

Tiny yet befittingly composed with a perm, one girl coolly crossed her arms, "...Haibara Ai."

Lively in a headband, the last girl gleefully chirped, "I'm Yoshida Ayumi!" Ayumi handed over a photo, "this is Conan and we're~"

"The Junior Detective League!" They cheered.

"Aww how cute! Is that a club or something?"

"You could call it that," Mitsuhiko thoughtfully nodded.

"We track down bad guys!" Genta grinned.

"And solve crimes!" Ayumi shouted.

"Wow! I've got to see you in action one day," I imitated their excitement.

"Really?! Then next time we get a case you can come," Their cheeks warmed up with enthusiasm.

Then the children gathered into a circle to discuss this new event while I examined that wallet sized photo Ayumi handed me, "Hey Ran, is this the one you told me about?"

"Yeah," she brightened up, "it's like having my own kid brother~ things have really picked up since he started living at the Agency. Even my father has more spirit, because since Conan appeared, business has been improving as well."

"Like a strange good luck charm..." Sonoko added.

"Hm, mini mister sunshine." I compared the children in front of me to the one in the photo, "Why isn't he here?"

"Oh," Ran looked back at the entrance then down the corridors, "Man... where did he run off to this time?"

"Mini mister missing sunshine..."

"I'll be back.." Ran roamed off with Sonoko following close behind.

Then once again, Heiji got a little too close to my face. "You..." he cupped my forehead, "You've got a fever?"

I defensively shoved him away, "N-no I don't."

Kazuha was distressed by such news though, "Now that I look closer, you're sweating a lot, do you feel okay?"

"I'm fine. Besides I-" Heiji reached for my arm, causing me to slide away and dart off, "I gotta fill my water bottle, bye!"

"Keiko!" Heiji called, although he stayed in place knowing that trying to follow my speed was a meaningless effort.

* * *

><p>Runners are actually suppose to remain in the locker room until showtime, so I found myself magnetically drawn to staying in that place, but when I returned, there Usagi was. She had shampoo fresh hair, and irritated eyebrows just as she identified my face.<p>

"You saved me the trouble," Usagi menaced. She gestured to an approaching girl, the man-lady everyone feared, "Let's say you accidentally ran into her, what would happen?"

"Let's not," I pulled an about-face then scurried elsewhere, but this time with Usagi in rigorous pursuit.

I've learned that sometimes the thing about pursuance is being able to do something the other person wont. However, I leapt over staircases, jumped into crowds, and ran by the security office, yet Usagi wasn't giving in. My head soon fogged up, and in an empty corridor no less. Stopping now meant I could finally catch my breath, but also that she could have her way with me. Really, my legs were controlling the logic here. Ordering me to admit defeat, and drop around the first corner. Instead of willingly falling over though, I took a misstep over a stray kid.

"Whoa!" I gasped.

"Ouch!" He shouted.

Looking upon the kid's face, I instantly realized who he was, "Conan, right?"

His expression was rather odd; a deer in the headlights, not a good look for a kid, yet somehow he still managed a nod. My ears picked up Usagi's footsteps abruptly growing louder.

I smiled and blurted, "Nice to meetcha, I'm Keiko!" Then I turned his shoulders to face the threat and yelled, "no violence in front of innocent children!"

Usagi pierced him with an icy stare, "So?"

Conan spoke up, "...I'm also a witness?" while alining his watch with her face, what good is that suppose to do?

"Hmph," She straightened her stance, wiped some sweat, and searched for any onlookers, "Whatever," then Usagi left our presence.

"Oh that was too much..." My shoulders fell to the cool soothing walls.

"What's going on?"

I shrugged, "A game of tag."

Conan observed my weary figure and asked, "Wait, a-are you okay?"

Someone reached out from behind, and stuck a chilling gel pack to my forehead, "No," it was Heiji. He then tapped my cheek repeatedly, accompanied by a verbal scolding for my earlier actions, "I wasn't gonna tell ya to drop out of the race, idiot, but **no**, you had to run off. Now look, you're- Kudo~" he ended with a chime.

"Eh?" My eyes traced back to Conan, "Hm?" I glared at Heiji for lying.

"What?" Heiji glanced at Conan, "I... said... Kid. Oh... Kid, oh there you are.."

"Very funny..." Kazuha swooped in, "He's always doing that."

* * *

><p>[Conan's POV]<p>

Kazuha handed Keiko two water bottles, "The race begins in an hour. At least rest up until then."

"Thanks," Keiko smiled, "and I will." Heiji and Kazuha took a seat beside her against the wall.

As they conversed, it was easy to see Keiko's close bond with the two, like siblings. But it was provoking, how close she acted with Heiji. Smiling, laughing, teasing. All the things I was once privy to, he can now experience them so conveniently. That's suppose to be for me, and only me. However, when I think about it, has she grown up accustomed to this cheerful behavior around him since childhood? That's disheartening...

Keiko unexpectedly stood up, rather wobbly, and took a picture of the audience who were now slowly filling in the stands. As she fiddled with her phone afterward, mine went off. I opened it to a new message, the picture she just took was attached with the captions, _Are you here?_

Keiko turned around, smiling at my gaze, as I tucked Shinichi's phone away. My lips shakily pulled off a toothy grin, though I solemnly wished to reply, _Of course stupid, I'm right here..._

"There you are!"

I paled to hear a reaction to my internal thoughts. However, it was simply Ran who swooped me into her arms, much to my dismay, ringing in a scolding closer to my sensitive ears. "Where were you?!" and "Don't run off again!" Then "No Kamen Yaiba for a week!"

I actually rejoiced at the last one.

"You can do that?" Keiko curiously observed us.

"Do what?" Ran asked.

"You can just pick him up like that?"

"Yeah, Conan's actually really lightweight."

"Can I hold him?" She eagerly lit up.

"He's not a toy, Keiko.. and besides, you're asking the wrong person for permission," Ran set me down.

"Then," Keiko extended her arms, "Come here" she beckoned.

"Okay," I shyly agreed.

"Hey," Heiji yanked my arm, "Stop actin' so close to the kid."

"Why?" Keiko hugged me tighter, but the spot she pressed against my body was not something a teenage boy should freely feel. My cheeks warmed at this, causing Heiji to tug harder.

"It's buggin' me."

"You're buggin' me."

He growled.

"Don't start with me," Keiko threatened.

Finally I couldn't take their childish bickering and exclaimed, "Ow, Heiji that hurts. You're mean!"

"What Ku- Kid?!" Heiji refrained from inflicting pain upon me.

I grinned, "Shinichi's much nicer than you!"

"Yeah, Heiji, be kind to the kid!" Keiko snapped.

"But he-!"

"Wait, you know Shinichi?" Keiko asked.

I smirked, "Mm-hmm! He's super smart!"

"Yep yep," she gleefully agreed.

"And cool!"

"Uh-huh."

"And the greatest detective ever!"

"Of course!"

"You..." Heiji scowled at me.

"Conan!" Ayumi irritably called.

"There you are," Genta snickered.

"Getting along well with Keiko?" Mitsuhiko teased.

"Uh," I flushed. Heiji mockingly laughed along with them.

Keiko then lowered me to the ground, "Hey, don't be rude," she reprimanded.

"Oh, uh, sorry," The children awkwardly smiled.

Keiko glared at Heiji, who then ceased his smiles, "I-I'm sorry too..." he glowered at me, "I guess..." Heiji dragged me off the moment Keiko turned away. Then he proceeded to noogie me into oblivion, "Ya think you're so smug.."

"...Child... abuse," I collapsed.

"Hmph," Heiji sat comfortably, equal my height, then asked, "So, what'd ya do to her, Kudo?"

"Huh?"

"She was such a tomboy before. Starting fights and calling names, but now she seems... she seems like a girl."

_**Seems?**_ I turned in disbelief, "I'm not talking to you anymore..."

"Hey, I'm being serious," He caught me.

"She **is** a girl, stupid.. But, it does make sense, that she **was** a tomboy. When we met, I was undercover for a case, she was acting suspicious so I tried asking some questions. Then she kicked me and ran."

"That sounds like Keiko..." He smirked, "Although..."

"What?"

"It looks like you haven't told her," he grinned.

I glowered at his cheerfulness, "As if I could. If she knew then... she'd be in danger."

Heiji detected melancholy through my tone, "Kudo... you-?"

"Keiko~!" A voice interrupted our conversation.

Keiko exclaimed, "M-Mom?!"

"You forgot your towel."

Keiko nervously accepted it.

Kazuha was perplexed, "Who..?"

Keiko and her mom flinched, "Uh, she's-"

"Your aunt right? You told us earlier that she was your aunt."

"But she's your mom," Ran pointed out.

"That's not her mom," Kazuha shook her head.

"No, um, your both right!" Keiko anxiously explained, "She's my aunt by blood actually, but really, Auntie and Uncle are so much like my parents, that I've called em' _Mom_ and _Dad _my whole life. Ya get it?"

"I see," they understandably smiled.

Thankfully they were easily fooled, however...

"Who the hell is that?" Heiji disquietingly asked, "Keiko's lying. That's her tell."

"H-Hattori, calm down," I somewhat kept him from charging in.

"Then what's going on, Kudo?!" He snapped.

"I.." If I were to explain, that would break our promise. So, I sighed and hoped for the best, "it's not my place to say... you just have to trust her. They're not bad people."

Heiji wasn't pleased, though he somewhat accepted it, "I'll find out sooner or later," he scoffed.

* * *

><p>[Keiko's POV]<p>

"Genta?" I queried.

"No," he responded.

The others erupted into laughter. Embarrassingly enough, I forgot the names of the children already, now they're making me play the guessing game as punishment.

"Then, you're Genta?" I pointed to a small brown haired girl.

"No! How mean, that's a boy's name!"

The tall kid pouted in defeat, "I'm Genta..."

"I'm sorry..." I patted his head.

"It's okay," Genta blushed.

The other boy slipped between us, "You still haven't got my name!"

"...Ai?"

"Nonono!" he stomped.

The nicely composed girl actually chuckled to that, "Ah, then you're Ai!" to my realization she walked away, "Was I wrong...?"

"No, she's always like that.." the other girl reassured me.

"Annnnnd, you're Ayumi!"

Ayumi literally exploded with happiness, "Yes!" eyes beaming, cheeks rosy.

"Aw," her radiance overjoyed me, "yay! I got it right!"

"But..." the freckle-faced boy sunk down, gloomily treading away.

"Wait- um..." I delved through my memories, "Mitsuhiko!"

This was probably the happiest moment of his life, he spun around, squeakily answering, "Yes!"

Ran tapped my shoulder, "You're forgetting one." and pointed to the boy standing beside Heiji.

"Come on!" The children dragged him into the spotlight. The way they acted, I felt like the contestant in a game-show.

He wore black rimmed glasses, a dressy suit, complete with a cute little red bow-tie. He fidgeted in my presence, "W-well?"

"C..." I began.

The children were growing annoyed that I was getting this one's name so quickly, however that was a lie.

"Kiddo?"

Everyone recoiled in disbelief, "Keiko, really?!" They shouted.

"Whoops," I chuckled.

* * *

><p>Cautiously reentering the locker room felt equivalent to tip-toeing through a rickety old house. The competitors were already being announced on the field, so I had to be here... I looked left, and right. No incoming or standing dangers-<p>

"Do your best!" Everyone joyously encouraged me.

That gave me a start, "Thanks," I gripped my chest, quelling a mini-heart-attack, "With y'all cheering me on, I wouldn't dream of giving any less than best!" I grinned then noticed the children growing antsy for attention, "Afterwards, we celebrate with candy and treats!"

"YEAH!" They rejoiced.

"Number 31! Sachiko Keiko~~!" The announcers voice echoed throughout the stadium, followed by a roar of applause from the audience, and my friends.

My cheeks embarrassingly warmed from all the attention, "I'll see you!"

"Go go! Kei~ ko!" They cheered.

By the time I entered the field, all the attention went to my head. Literally. My fever was getting worse, let alone the overwhelming feeling from being in front of a giant crowd.

"Nervous?" Usagi caught me during a dizzy spell.

"As if," I retorted.

She smirked, "You should be."

[Ready?] We took our positions.

"Why? Did you actually go so low as to sabotage something of mine?"

"Like I would need to do such a senseless thing against you," she snickered with a pseudo smile.

[Set] We arched forward, tightening our calves, and pointing our fingers into place.

"I don't know what kind of weaklings you faced in the preliminaries, but now you won't stand a chance. It's actually laughable to think you made it here, this is a place for great athletes with beautiful long slender legs. So go home now, midget"

I flared with anger, "Like that means anything! When I win, you'll see that has nothing to do with this sport! It's perseverance, and friends who support you no matter what! If you don't know that-"

[Go!]

"-you obviously have none!" I shouted as we took off.

"Why you..." she snarled.

The announcer soon went crazy shouting, "Sachiko takes first!" then, "Usagi overthrows Sachiko once more!" over and over, with different wording each time. But he was running out of adjectives quickly, until we shockingly caught up with the person in last place on our third lap around the track. Astonishingly enough, the person in last was the man-girl everyone feared, but we didn't dwell on this surprise for long. Usagi and me were absorbed into winning, neither was giving in, or slowing down. As we passed each other time after time, we continuously gained momentum, and propelled far ahead of the other competitors.

Soon enough though, I fell behind. With more sweat than usual dripping down, stinging salt into my eyes. I wiped it down, and nearly tripped from loss of focus. Over-exhaustion clotted my coherent thought thought, and I soon found myself falling into third, than fourth, and finally fifth.

One more lap, and Usagi was leisurely running along, wearing a shallow smile that insulted the passive runners who couldn't catch up for lack of endurance. _That jerk's about to win... A winning jerk __with a trophy. _I thought then pictured her smug face, trashing all the good words I had said at the starting line. Then her grubby attitude forever tainting everything I loved about this sport.

I clenched that thought and ran like a hoard of felines were in close pursuit. I actually made it back up to fourth, third, then second.

It was impossible though. There I was in second, hanging behind mere feet away from Usagi. I couldn't catch up, my body was aching all over, and failing me due to the sickness. The finish line was getting closer. My throat was stinging, I was wheezing for breath, and my legs felt like a pound of lead had grown inside my muscles over a matter of seconds.

"Come on Keiko! You can do it!" The clouds lifted from my mind as I recognized the voice. Shinichi.

I unglued my eyes from the ground and looked ahead. Running like mad. Usagi noticed my incoming feat, then put in her all.

The announcer yelled, "Unbelievable! Sachiko's caught up once more! Oh! Sachiko's now passed Usagi and reclaimed first place! Wait- that's not all!"

Usagi sprinted desperately to regain her position, but even at her efforts, I stubbornly kept my place. Finally, I snapped the finish line, and all my weariness mattered no more, as the announcer shouted, "Sachiko did it! Sachiko won this year's Annual Track Tournament!"

A triumphant smirk spread across my face, I mockingly pointed to Usagi as I dizzily turned on my heel, "HA!" and passed out.


	15. Halloween Special

Since the last time I thanked ya'll, more have left reviews, and favorited/followed this story ^^ Thanks so much for your support! And Happy Halloween!

Special thanks to Youfall9times for providing me with ideas, and scares for this chapter :) Thanks, and enjoy!

* * *

><p>Typically we avoid the places haunted by rumor. Old homes are said to have lingering spirits. Mansions house an angry ghost or two. And graveyards take the top of the charts, with a complete set of it all.<p>

My grandfather, whom I have dearly loved despite the fact that we've never met, has a birthday. Today. On Halloween.

Apparently, he died at a young age. However, whenever I had asked about Grandpa, Grandma would just go on about how hot he was. What happened the day he died, or even his life story is still a mystery.

One week prior to visiting the cemetery in Osaka where he was buried, I announced to my friends where I would be going. Somehow, The Detective Boys caught wind of the news... and those children were ecstatic. Their reaction confused me greatly. It's a graveyard, what's so cool about that? Anyway, they decided to tag along, and now, a simple visit has become a full blown field-trip.

[Authors POV]

It was an old graveyard; full of trees, and warn down graves, yet the space was phenomenal. Walking blindly into the cemetery could possibly get one lost, with it being as dense and wide as a forest.

The Professor, Keiko, and The Detective Boys all arrived at Grandfather Sachiko's tombstone. Keiko sighed in relief that she was able to remember it's placement without a problem. Then the children awkwardly fidgeted as Keiko placed flowers in front of the grave, lit incense, and began to pray.

Ayumi's gaze impatiently wandered, "Ah! Kitties!"

Keiko silently jumped, yet remained calm as the children ran off to play with a litter of kittens near the grave-keepers home. Agasa followed after them with Haibara close by, warning them to avoid stepping on the graves.

"So," Conan returned his gaze to Keiko as she began to speak, "Um, hey Grandpa. Sorry I haven't visited in awhile. Some things happened, ya know?" Keiko skimmed over her memories, stopping at a rather unpleasant one, which caused her to feel a pang of regret, "I'm sure you'd rather see Grandma, and Mama, and Papa, right now..." She nervously plucked the grass, "It's kinda my fault they're not gonna come. I'm sure they wanted to visit ya though..."

Keiko was emotionally walking down a hill, Conan wanted to stop her, but he seriously doubted a kid could say anything to sooth her at the moment. After enduring her melancholy tone awhile longer, he walked off to give her some privacy. Yet it only gave him a worse case of heartache to see her drying tears on her sleeves from afar.

"Sad?" Haibara asked Conan, as she hinted sarcasm through the tone of her voice.

Conan responded with a dejected grumble.

"I see."

"Why did I have to be trapped in this kind of body? It's so useless."

"Why not think of happier things? At least you're not dead. Then she would have to be in this kind of place for you." Suddenly a light-bulb went off, "Well, she is still young. If Kudo Shinichi were to die now, I guess it would be easier to forget, and move on. So, don't feel too bad, Kudo."

He paused at her extremes, irritably staring in disbelief, "...What is happiness to you?"

"A day of solitude."

"And?"

"Coffee."

Conan sighed, "I thought so..."

She scowled coldly, "Don't compare my haven to your selfish ideals."

He sighed, "I'm not thinking of myself..."

Ai followed his gaze to Keiko, who was waving them over, signaling it was time to go.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe this!" Keiko cowered in the corner of the grave-keepers home.<p>

The Professor coaxed her, "It's only till tomorrow..."

The Volkswagen wouldn't start, and Agasa couldn't figure out why, so he called a tow truck to pick it up. However, the tow truck wouldn't be able to make it to the cemetery until tomorrow, the same goes for a taxi. That's when the grave-keeper graciously offered to put everyone up for the night. Keiko firmly disagreed to staying, but when the sun set, she didn't have a choice.

After dinner, Agasa and the grave-keeper fell fast asleep, while others were more antsy about the situation.

Genta whispered, "It's Halloween," causing all the children to turn in their futons to converse. Keiko also stirred awake, silently eavesdropping in on their conversation.

"And we're in a graveyard!" Ayumi shuddered, "What if we get cursed?"

Mitsuhiko mockingly stated, "Such superstitions don't exist."

Wind howled against the window, scaring the children into clinging together.

Despite the number of people in the room, Keiko also felt a chill jump up her spine, so she went to the bathroom and washed her face in hopes of calming down.

"You okay?" Conan asked Keiko as she left the bathroom.

"Ki- Kid!" She flinched. As Keiko reassured him of her wellbeing, Conan narrowed his eyes, looking hard at a silhouette in the window behind her. "Kid? Hello? Something wrong?" Keiko waved for his attention.

Conan came back to his senses with a start, he then scratched the back of his head, nervously replying, "It's nothing." However, his eyes refocused on the window in suspicion when he noticed the silhouette seemed to move.

Keiko sighed at a loss, but before she decided to return to the bedroom, Conan caught her attention by striking a thoughtful pose.

_What a Shinichi thing to do_, Keiko inwardly chuckled at their similarities. _Conan is related to Shinichi, so I guess it makes sense that they would act the same_. Keiko kneeled down to compare their facial similarities, _He's got Shinichi's eyes, his nose... Hm, maybe I should look for what's different... _Keiko stepped back to observe Conan fully, although the difference was quite obvious,_ Height..._

Keiko leaned in once more and softly asked, "Really, what's the matter?" She expected some childish excuse, however Conan decided that voicing his thoughts aloud to Keiko would clarify something, just like in previous cases.

"Something was moving in that window, but if i remember correctly, there's a shed blocking the way. Not to mention the fence.."

Keiko bit her lip, as she forced herself to refrain from turning around, goosebumps crawled up and down her arms.

Conan recoiled to her reaction, "M-maybe my eye's are playing tricks on me..."

A loud crash interrupted the two. Luckily, no screaming followed. However the noise itself was much more alarming since it sounded like it came from the lifeless world outside.

Conan glared back at the window with a fright, the figure disappeared. He clenched his teeth, then ran off to chase the suspect.

"Hey!" Keiko attempted to capture Conan.

However, he got away shouting, "Keep an eye on the others!"

Keiko almost pursued him, but decided against it when she thought of the other children's psychological welfare.

Keiko quickly returned to the bedroom, but the scene she stumbled upon only served to disturb her to no end. The bed sheets were scattered, a few pillows were gone, and the children had disappeared.

"No..." She tossed the covers every which way, hoping that the children were wrapped up or hiding in them, "Nonononono!" Keiko checked under the futons and in every corner of the room until no hiding place was left. She peeked down the hall, and stared at the window, "It-" She cried, "It ate the children..."

A hand landed on her shoulder, causing Keiko to jump and bite her tongue before she could scream, "Ah-!... ehh... ehhhhh..." Keiko sobbed.

"What happened?" Haibara unwillingly asked.

"A- Ai!" Keiko hugged the spiritless girl, happily twirling her back and forth. Ai, on the other hand, dully flopped around, feeling reluctant to this sort of physical contact. "Wait" Keiko paused, "where are the others?"

"They went to see what made the noise outside... Where's Edogawa?"

"He sorta did the same thing..."

Haibara was mildly surprised to hear that, but she went along with it anyway, "Maybe we should go find them?"

Keiko glanced down the hall, "I'm gonna get the Professor..."

Ai grasped Keiko's hand, then walked to the door, "He needs his rest, come on, they're just kids. They couldn't have gone too far."

"Okay," Keiko then thought on Ai's ability to take charge, _I guess we're both adults today..._

"Here," she handed Keiko a flashlight, while Ai had a handy wristwatch-flashlight of her own.

When they reached the door though, Keiko froze, "I can't..."

Haibara rolled her eyes as she was regretting this already, "Can't what?"

"There's certain animals out there..."

"And what if the others are in danger?"

"Ai I... I believe in you! You can do it! Find them and-" Ai irritably pulled Keiko out the door, "Noooo!"

"Don't give up so easily," Ai growled.

Keiko noticed the cats were no longer near the home, and willingly came outside, "Fine.." Keiko grabbed Ai's hand and wandered into the dark with the flashlight as their guide.

"I think I saw something," Ai pointed at the gates.

"A bad something or kid something?"

"A kid som-" Ai corrected herself, "One of the others probably."

"Then- hey!" Keiko chased after Ai as she dashed towards it.

When they arrived, Ai bent down, and picked up something.

Keiko looked around and shrugged, "It doesn't look like they're here" However, Ai failed to respond. "Come on... Ai? Hey-" Keiko turned her by the shoulder and quivered before what Ai held in her hands.

Ai snickered wickedly, "Isn't it a-" Keiko took off screaming, "-dorable...?" Keiko's running skills lived up to their reputation, she was out of sight in mere seconds from just the sight of a cat, "...that worked a little too well..." Ai sighed as she gazed upon the stars polka dotted throughout the pitch-black Halloween sky, "Kudo, what are you up to?"

* * *

><p>Keiko ran desperately towards a dim illumination in the distance. When Keiko arrived, she saw that the light-source was merely a lantern hanging onto a low tree branch. Keiko then looked back and realized, <em>I just lost Ai!<em> to which she face-palmed.

"Something wrong?"

Keiko, "eep"'d then shakily faced the source of the question, it was a man, "No..." she squeaked in fear.

"That's good.." he smiled.

Keiko eased up. The man was actually a handsome stranger, with a soothing smile for such a disconcerted place. Keiko squinted into the darkness, "Well, actually, I'm looking for a group of kids. Have you seen any around here?"

"Um... no, sorry..."

"It's fine..." Keiko nervously fiddled with her flashlight, "Anyway, why are you here?" Keiko asked. Although, she was more curious as to why he was just sitting under the light against a tree.

"I come here every year," he sighed, looking distantly towards the graves, "But I got lost this time," he helplessly smiled, "My wife usually shows up after I walk over here in the afternoon, and helps me get home, but I guess she forgot. Or maybe it got too late... Either way, I want to leave this eerie place. Perhaps I could help you find those children? Then maybe we'll find the exit along the way."

Keiko was a bit disheartened to discover that he was married, but she was still enthusiastic to have company, "Sure! I really don't wanna be here alone anyway..."

"Alright," he stood up.

Keiko couldn't find the courage to step blindly into the darkness once more. She faced the man and made small-talk instead, "So, what's your wife like? I can't believe she'd just leave a nice looking guy like you alone, and here of all places.."

He took offense to her words, "She'd never forget me on purpose. Please don't think that way."

"Oh uh, sorry," Keiko awkwardly smiled.

He thought on Keiko's question then said, "She's.." he sheepishly ginned at the ground, "she's really something. The complete opposite of me. She's always joking around, and finding the good in any situation. She can understand emotional things much better than I can. She knows I have to bluntly see some things to understand them, and even I didn't know that about myself until I met her. Oh, and her cooking is the best! I once ha-" he froze upon meeting Keiko's eyes, "I was rambling, I'm so sorry," he bowed.

"No, go on! That's so cute! Ya know, I'd love to meet her," Keiko smiled, "you have to introduce me sometime," she giggled, "we can have some of her cooking as well."

He flushed and chuckled, "Okay, she loves company. Oh, I left my jacket over there," he pointed past the tree he was leaning against, "I'll be right back!"

"Alright." Keiko then remembered Ai, and debated whether or not to turn back as she rested her hand against the only visible tombstone.

Keiko hastily retreated her hand from the feel of liquid over the surface of the marble. Unfortunately for her, she could still feel the substance tainting her palm. The texture was sticky and dense. Keiko warily used her flashlight for a better look, trembling from the sudden chill that ran down her spine.

Keiko's eyes widened as her flashlight brightened up the area. The gravestone was drenched; a crimson liquid, oozing from between the cracks, and seeping over the already blurred name of the deceased.

The scream that had been stuck in Keiko's throat now broke through with full force as her legs took control, and started sprinting in the opposite direction.

* * *

><p>"What was that?" Conan looked off into the darkness as a scream echoed into his ears.<p>

"Hello."

Conan jumped, alarmed by the sound of a strangers voice looming from behind, "Who are you?!"

"Lost I guess," the stranger timidly shrugged.

Conan inspected the man. He seemed young; a round baby face, soft blue eyes, and frizzy brown hair. Although the clothing he wore completely contradicted his whole demeanor. Raggedy jeans that were tearing at the seams, a tattered shirt and jacket, then the fact that he wasn't wearing any shoes only made it worse.

"What's a kid like you doing in a place like this?"

"L- looking for something... By any chance, were you standing over there?" Conan pointed beyond the fence to the house.

"Maybe," the man shrugged, "It's so dark, I can't tell where anything is... I might've unknowingly wandered over there..."

"I see... did you happen to see anyone else around here?"

"I did find a girl, but then I left to get something, and lost her..."

Conan uneasily asked, "A girl?"

"Yeah, she had blond.. brown-ish hair. She said she was looking for some kids," he lightly laughed, "Seems like everyone here is lost or looking for someone. This has to be the liveliest graveyard ever." The man noticed Conan had become upset from the news, "Now that I think about it, you're probably on of the kids she was looking for. Is she your friend?"

"Yes," he managed a slight nod while his thoughts were taking over, "Which way was she?"

"Sorry, I don't remember.."

Conan anxiously stared into the darkness.

The man knowingly smiled, "You care for her a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do..." Conan suddenly remembered her earlier tears, and dismayed upon the subject once more, "Of course I do... She's my good friend."

"How nice," he patted Conan's head, "Let's split up and look for her, okay?"

"Alright," Conan nodded.

* * *

><p>Keiko was having a hard time keeping her tranquility close. Halfway into running Keiko couldn't take the feel on her palm, and rubbed the substance desperately into a patch of grass. As she found herself at a standstill, she noticed an alternate light just ahead. It was brighter, and way more inviting, so she warily checked it out by approaching slowly.<p>

_My head's staring to spin,_ Keiko thought of all the scares she's had up until now, _Maybe calling Shinichi will calm me down._ Keiko pulled out her cell and dialed for Shinichi. As she waited for Shinichi to pick up, she wondered if Conan had his phone. _Probably not since he was already in pajamas..._

Conan answered Shinichi's phone, "Where are you?"

Keiko let his question slip over her head and shouted, "Shinichi!"

At that point, Conan dropped his phone in shock, desperately pulling out his voice modifying bow-tie before he had to respond.

"Shinichi?" Keiko asked.

"Y-yeah," Conan answered in Shinichi's tone.

"I'm so glad you're still awake... Anyway.. wh- what's up?"

"You call at midnight to ask _what's up?_ Keiko where are you," he asked, hoping for a specific answer.

"In a graveyard, looking for kids..."

Conan thought on a good response, but ended up with, "...why?"

"They got lost, so I went looking for them... Oh, I found one!"

"Eh?" Conan looked around.

"It looks like Conan. Conan!" She called. Her voice echoed from the phone, "Huh? That's weird."

"Ah, well, I've gotta go! Tell the kid I said hi!"

"Wha- Shinichi!"

Shinichi hung up. Keiko then ran up to Conan as he proceeded to face her.

They both slipped their phones away, looking onto each other with a smile.

"Shinichi said hi," Keiko grinned.

_A message from me... to me... how nice_, Conan insipidly thought.

"Where were you?!" Keiko kneeled down, and squeezed Conan in her arms.

Conan flushed at all the feels he was experiencing in one moment, then somehow replied, "A- around. What about you?"

"I've been looking for the other kids. Ai said they all went outside, but I'm starting to doubt that since I haven't found any of them yet..."

"Then let's try this," Conan turned on the tracker in his glasses.

Keiko gasped as his glasses lens lit up, "What's that?"

"It allows me to track down the badges that the kids wear."

Keiko felt like crying. She's been looking for the children, and Conan had a shortcut this whole time, "Where have you been all night...?"

Conan was unsure of how to respond, so he pointed his wristwatch-flashlight in the childrens general direction, and walked onward, "Let's just go..."

* * *

><p>"That's odd, one of them should be here" Conan stopped a few feet away from the dim light source, the exact one that Keiko had found earlier. Under the light was a gravestone.<p>

"No way," Keiko shook, "This was c-covered in blood before.."

"What?" Conan took her trembling words seriously. He touched the grave, then drew back from the slippery feel. "What is this...?"

It was a clear liquid that carried all the similarities of blood, excluding the color.

"Were my eyes playing tricks on me..?"

"When did you notice it was blood?" Conan asked.

"Well, I didn't notice it when I arrived... Later I touched it, and used my flashlight for a clearer look. That's when I saw it, but.." Keiko showed him her palm. Conan illuminated it with his wristwatch, however there was nothing.

"Maybe.." Conan took her flashlight and examined the bulb. Then he turned it on, bringing back the crimson that Keiko saw before.

Keiko recoiled, "It was the flashlight?!"

"Yeah. This specific light paired with that liquid will cause it to change color. Who gave you this flashlight?"

"Ai..."

_Figures_, Conan wryly thought. "The other badges are in this direction."

Then they walked some more, and stumbled upon a different light, the one Keiko failed to check out earlier.

"Another dead end track," Conan sighed as the tracker landed right where a tomb was sticking out of the ground.

"It took them **into** the grave," Keiko shivered, and ducked behind Conan. Conan's cheeks warmed as Keiko leisurely gripped his shoulders.

Conan ripped his thoughts off of Keiko then observed the tomb. Before he got closer, the cleanliness surrounding the grave caught his attention. That's when he saw the string that came up from behind the grave, over a tree branch, and led to a nearby bush. "You guys," Conan called.

The bush flinched. At which point Conan and the bush were at a standstill, staring each other down. Until the bush thought of a brilliant idea, and released a cat that it had previously held captive. Keiko sprang into the air, however Conan remained steady as a rock. Since Conan stayed, Keiko unwillingly did the same, not wanting to leave him like she did Ai.

"Come out already."

"Wait, all this time, the one's scaring me were you kids?!" Keiko finally had enough, then stomped, "Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, Genta!" However, they didn't respond. The bush became rather shaky though. Keiko snapped, and roared with pent up emotions. She jumped the bush, to which all the children hidden inside scattered. They yelled in fear as she caught each one of them, yanking their ears, as regret and apologies sang through the air.

After the kids were thrown back into the bedroom, Keiko gave them one last chance to redeem themselves before she locked them inside.

"We're so sorry!" They pleaded. Two exceptions to Keikos rage was Ai, who had already gone to bed, and Conan, who had nothing to do with it.

"We heard you were scared of cats," Mitsuhiko refrained a laugh.

Genta nervously smiled, "We thought it was a joke, so we asked Agasa to set up a real scare."

"The bloody grave," Mitsuhiko interjected.

"A joke scare was the box of cats we would have released if you had gone closer to that tomb."

"We didn't mean to make you mad," Ayumi frowned, "We just wanted to have some fun on Halloween."

"Having fun at others expense is wrong, even if you didn't intend for it to be that way," Keiko scolded them.

"But, we also wanted to cheer you up.."

"Huh?.." Keiko was caught off-guard by that.

"You looked so sad when you talked about your grandfather last week.." Ayumi twiddled her thumbs back and forth.

"We thought we would scare the sadness right out of you! Then afterwords we- um.." Genta shied away.

They all flung to their bags and simultaneously shouted, "Happy Halloween!" Then each one of them handed Keiko a cute handmade Halloween greeting card.

"W-wow," Keiko humbly smiled, "Aw, thanks so much!" She hugged each one of them, then tucked the cards away. Keiko then glanced at the ceiling to imitate a thinking face with a smile, "**I guess** this makes up for all that terror amongst the graves earlier. But tomorrow you all have to clean those graves ya'll messed with, okay?"

"Okay!" they happily agreed.

When the kids were tucked into bed, Keiko remembered the lost man in the cemetery. She walked outside to check around, when she noticed Conan tailing after her.

"There was a guy out here earlier. I wonder if he's okay.."

"Probably," Conan yawned.

Although they wanted to believe he made it out okay, an invisible force curiously took the two out into the graveyard once more. The morning sun was already peaking out to provide a menial amount of light for guidance. Keiko and Conan arrived at the gates when they encountered the man once more.

The man noticed them approaching and apprehensively smiled, "You two found each other."

"Yeah," Conan childishly agreed.

"You know him?" Keiko perplexedly asked.

"We met here," the man informed her, "right after I met you actually."

"I see. Well, it looks like you found the way out."

"So, this is the exit?"

They nodded.

The man was wavering between leaving and staying, as he laid his hands against the gates.

"Your wife didn't come.." Keiko sympathetically frowned. This information was new to Conan, so he listened patiently as they talked.

"No.. but I just remembered that someone told me why she didn't come," he perked up as a half smile graced his lips, "I'm glad to know that, so now I can go, and not worry about her showing up when I'm not here"

"Then you're going now? I guess that means you got in contact with someone, are you waiting for them to pick you up?"

"Sort of..." He kicked some dirt and mumbled, "Did I mention that today's my birthday?"

Keiko laughed at his obvious plays for attention, "No, but, happy birthday!"

Conan also smiled, "Happy birthday."

"Thanks," his cheeks warmed from their happy expressions. Then he stared long and hard at the ground before reaching out and hugging Keiko.

"O- okay," Keiko patted his back. Conan looked on with a pang of jealously, at least until the man hugged Conan as well. Then he faced the exit, and softly looked at them over his shoulder once more.

"Um, bye," he waved.

"Bye," they waved in return.

Keiko and Conan turned away precisely as the man passed through the gates. They didn't think much of it at the time, but later they realized that after that day, they never saw that man again.


	16. Confidant

Sorry MCRDanime that I took so long xD Thanks for your enthusiasm though, I hope the wait was worth it. Also, this is a bit late, but I would like to thank Falling Through Time for all the help she's given me :) Thanks, and Enjoy!

* * *

><p>My blacking out didn't prevent anyone from doing anything. The coaches held up my limp, feverish body for official photos with the first place trophy immediately after I awoke in the infirmary. After that, my friends gathered around for a few commemorative pictures. I didn't mind them doing that. Then again my mind was only half-aware of what was going on at the time.<p>

Later as everyone was chatting, and waiting for me to recover some energy so we could leave, a man walked in. The man smiled and commented on my performance.

"I heard that you ran with a fever." He sat down at my bedside, and pulled a thermometer out of his bag. Conan inched closer as the guy invaded my personal space.

"Yeah, I-" he stuck the thermometer under my tongue.

"I'm a big fan of cross-country. When I was younger I liked to participate in events such as these. However, it left me at a loss for words when they announced **you** as the champion." He threw off the bed sheets and gripped my thighs, "It's physically impossible."

Kazuha clenched the man's arm, threatening to break it. She glared at him, "What do ya think yer doin'?!"

The man easily pulled away. He refocused his attention onto me, leaning closer while shining a flashlight into my eyes.

"Tell me, are you on steroids?"

"Wha- Never!"

"If you say so."

The thermometer beeped. He pulled it out, checked it, and asked, "Do you have any allergies?"

"No-" He popped a pill into my mouth.

"That should make you feel a little better."

"Hey, don't do that!" Conan leapt onto the bed, and opened my mouth in order to steal the pill, but it was too late, I had already swallowed it.

"What the hell is wrong with you," Heiji menacingly picked the man up by his collar.

The man playfully grinned, "Wh-whoa, it's cool. I'm a doctor."

Sonoko shoved him to the door, "That's great, now get out!"

"Wait! I didn't mean to come off as rude," he nervously smiled. "Actually," he swerved around my friends, and made it back to my bedside, "I truly am amazed by your abilities. It really has been an honor to meet you," he graciously shook my hand. My cheeks warmed from such an overwhelming amount of flattery.

"Thank you."

He leaned in closer to me and whispered, "_How tall are you, really? The required height is 152.4 cm, but I'm thinking you lied_."

I whispered back, "_I- I did. Actually I'm 147.32 cm tall._"

"I thought so."

He laughed, then he patted my head.

"Congratulations on your victory. If you ever need a doctor, look for Nobuyuki Mamoru. Bye!" He gave a short wave before dashing past my friends and out the door.

"Bye!" we all shouted after him. However, I seemed to be the only one happy from his visit.

* * *

><p>"No! Please, please, please, I wanna stay! Please!" Conan pestered Ran as she purchased train tickets for their return home.<p>

I hugged the kid from behind, and appealed to Ran with a smile, "I'll watch him."

As I hoped for a joke to arise, Ran spurned me with an exhausted expression.

"You've got a fever, Keiko.."

"Whatever..." I immediately lost interest, let go, and trailed back to Heiji's side.

Conan tugged her skirt, "Come on, I wanna stay in Osaka for awhile longer! Please Ran!"

"What's so good about Osaka?" I mumbled below my breath, to which Heiji irritably pushed me away. I laughed since it was my goal to antagonize him.

"Geez Conan, you never act like this.. I would say yes but, who would watch you?"

"I will!" Heiji enthusiastically took the kid into his arms.

"Yay! I get to stay with Heiji!" Conan threw his arms into the air.

"Hattori, are you sure your parents won't mind?"

"It's no problem, no problem at all!" Heiji grinned.

"I guess this means he'll be returning home with me?" I asked.

"Don't worry, I'll pay his ticket home," Heiji replied.

"Alright."

With that we parted ways. Me and Conan stayed while everyone else returned home. I'll be returning to my home in Tokyo tomorrow, when we're all packed. Then my storm of late homework will erupt. It'll take an army to get it all done. I'll have to enlist unwilling participants; Sonoko, Ran, possibly Agasa, and Shinichi.

"Who's hungry?" Heiji pulled the group to a halt in front of a Sushi restaurant.

"I wanna go home, Heiji..." I complained.

"It'll be real fast, please?" Heiji clapped his hands, and cutely pleaded with me.

"...Just a quick bite."

"Alright!" he cheered.

We followed as Heiji dragged the kid inside, blabbering on about the restaurant's food as the kid only seemed mildly interested in what he had to say.

We were seated as soon as we entered and as Heiji talked on it occurred to me that the table was made of steel. The cool table was pleasing to my warm skin to such an extent that I rested my head across its surface. It was then that I noticed Heiji glancing at me, but he turned away when I caught him.

Kazuha narrowed her eyes, "Heiji, yer so inconsiderate," However, Heiji was too busy conversing with the kid to notice. "Keiko, I can walk ya home..." she felt my forehead, "yer burnin' up."

"Nah... I should celebrate my victory!" my fist pumped weakly into the air. "I should've lost considering everything that happened... but I won." I smiled. "Cause..." My thoughts settled warmly on Shinichi, when I realized, "Hey, where'd Shinichi go?"

"...Huh?" Heiji and Conan stared at me, petrified.

"Shinichi, he was at the Tournament. Where'd he go?"

Heiji scooted out of his seat, pulling Conan along as he inched to the bathroom.

"One moment," he said before they walked inside.

Kazuha gave them a dirty look, "What's that about?"

She took a thoughtful pose, "I don't remember seein' Kudo there, but... well..." her voice trailed off.

"What?"

"Th- there was a murder outside the stadium, during the Tournament."

"What?!" I jerked back, stirring up my fever in the process, "Whoa.. wha- what happened?"

"Don't worry, Heiji already solved the whole thing. It had somethin' to do with two businessmen. One was mad about... um... and the other... somethin' to do with gamblin'... and," she strained her brain on the memory.

"Stop. Yer gonna end up givin' yourself a headache.."

The two boys returned from the bathroom, looking opposite directions, like they just had an argument. As they sat back down I spotted Heiji stealing another glance at me.

Disregarding his strange behavior, I asked, "Does this mean you missed what went on in the competition?"

"What- n-no? ...No." Heiji confirmed.

"Kazuha said that there was a murder, and you went to solve it after the Tournament began."

Heiji thought on that for awhile, internally gloated, then said, "Yeah, **I** solved the case, easy-peasy. But don't worry," he playfully waved, "I caught the end of it; when you passed the finish-line."

"Then did you see Shinichi? At the end of my final lap, I heard his voice, he-" my headache began throbbing, so I put an ice-filled drink against my forehead. "Right when I was gonna give up... my body was shaking with each step, and easing my weariness was the center of my thoughts." A warmth formed on my cheeks, "Then I heard him cheer for me, and my mind reset, I was able to refocus on getting ahead. I won because of him.. I just wanted to say thank you."

"Aw, Keiko," Kazuha dotingly smiled.

"You were probably hallucinatin'. With so much exhaustion anythin' could've happened," Heiji looked over his shoulder, slyly grinning at the kid. Oddly enough, the kid's cheeks were rosy as he glared Heiji down.

The kid boldly, but shyly, stepped forward.

"I saw him! I saw Shinichi at the stadium! He told me to tell you that-" I curiously kneeled down, accidentally bringing out a bashful side of the boy. "Shinichi said he wanted to congratulate you, he said, _Y-_"

Heiji and Kazuha eavesdropping made him pause, so I motioned for the kid to whisper in my ear.

"He said, '_you were really amazing. The way you caught up in the end, it was like watching that time when Sonoko rushed the crowd for a name brand purse at her favorite store. When you crossed the finish line, I was so excited I almost shouted, 'she got the purse!'_"

I broke into a fit of laughter, "Did he really say that?!"

Conan happily nodded, "Yep!"

"What'd Kudo say?" Kazuha leaned over.

"It's an inside joke."

Kazuha giggled, "ya'll got inside jokes?"

"Well... yeah," I turned back to the kid, "But why'd Shinichi pass on a message instead of telling me directly?"

Conan's gaze magnetically darted to the wall. He forced a smile across his lips.

"Shinichi said the inspector called him in to help on a difficult case, b-but he would try to return soon to celebrate your victory."

"Okay!" I gleefully smiled and ruffled the kids hair, "Thanks for tellin' me!"

The kid stared with a strange sentiment of affliction, before covering it with a smile, "You're welcome."

After we ordered and ate our food I deduced from a hazy mind, "Shinichi helped solve that murder, didn't he?"

Heiji rolled his eyes, "He may have had somethin' to do with it."

"Or he may have solved the whole thing?"

The kid smiled, to which Heiji retaliated, "What makes ya think I would have even needed his help to solve it?!"

Such an outburst seemed like it was fed by some other emotion Heiji was holding inside. Probably something to do with why he kept glancing my way.

"You don't have to be so sensitive," I nervously took a sip of my drink.

"I-" Heiji stopped when the waiter brought us the check.

The walk home was rather awkward for everyone. I made sure to stay a good distance behind Heiji in order to avoid further conflict. Kazuha walked in-between us, unsure of who to walk beside. The kid was conversing with Heiji, and from the looks of it, they were both pretty into the conversation.

"Hey," Kazuha approached me, "What's going on with ya'll?"

"Like I would know," I shoved my hands into my pockets.

Kazuha crossed her arms, "I saw Heiji l-looking at ya... maybe he wants somethin' from ya?"

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure..."

Suddenly, Heiji plummeted a fist towards Conan. The kid dodged, causing Heiji to pursue him, until the kid came to my side. Heiji swiftly turned back around. So we then continued walking. Heiji walked far ahead of us, alone, with a tangible aura of anger emitting from him.

"Maybe you should try and calm him down... it's starting to scare me," I lightly pleaded with Kazuha.

"Ha, he can stay angry for all I care. Tryin' to pick on poor Conan like that," Kazuha exasperated, however she met my eyes and quickly lost her backbone.

I faintly sighed, "Now what? Lately, you've been actin' funny as well. The Kazuha I knew as a child was sharp and composed. Not shy and insecure."

Kazuha lost her voice to my words. A reddish hue fell on her cheeks.

"Do ya-" she clenched her fists and brazenly asked, "Do ya still have a crush on Heiji?!"

My fever abruptly felt ten times worse as I drifted to the nearest wall.

"Wh...what?"

"Do ya still l-like Heiji?" She bit her lip, "When we were kids, before you left, you said that you had a crush on 'im and... do ya still.. have feelings for him?"

While looking for an escape, my eyes fell upon the kid, he was speechless.

_Like he would have had anything to say anyway_, I thought sarcastically.

"Th-that I wou- I don-" My thoughts were swirling around a topic it couldn't handle in a feverish condition, however that's when I connected with Kazuha's emotions and realized that this wasn't about me.

Nevertheless, I felt the need to be earnest.

"Heiji's got his flaws. It's really annoying to me when he becomes conceited, and insistent on what he thinks he's right..." Kazuha wasn't pleased to hear me go a bit off topic, and what I was saying slightly irritated her. "But you... you actually think that's cute, don't you?"

She drew back with a blush.

"Once you develop feelings for a guy every little flaw just seems," I grinned, "adorable. Right?"

Kazuha's blush subsided as she hit an epiphany, "Does that mean you-?"

"Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?" I smiled with the intent of provoking her.

"I-" Kazuha mimicked my smile as if she was accepting a challenge, "I won't hand him over to you!"

"There's the old Kazuha!" My smile softened as I hugged her. She accepted my hug then proceeded to lecture me.

"This doesn't change anything though. We're still gonna be friends, no matter what!"

"Of course!" I laughed.

Kazuha smirked, then quickly skipped to Heiji's side. As they turned a corner, I realized that the kid was being rather sluggish and stopped to check on his well being.

"Hey kid," I paused upon spotting his frown.

_Does everyone have some drama today?_ I thought, then asked, "Do ya got a problem too...?"

"N-no. I..." his eyes traveled from one section of ground to the other. He lowly mumbled, "Why don't you catch up with them? I'm fine..." the kid only had enough willpower to look more directly at the ground. It seemed like he was questioning himself, thinking, _why am I here? _

"I'm more worried about you, Kid," I lightly grinned, but the poor kid seemed more distraught by the second.

"H-Heiji's probably waiting for you..."

"Nah, he's got Kazuha." I smiled in their general direction, "Have you ever liked a girl, Kid?"

His eyes hastily met mine. Cool deep blue eyes, that suddenly threatened to spill over with tears. I kneeled down and patted the kid's head although his pained expression made me confused on what to say.

So, I went on with what I intended to say earlier.

"When I was younger, I had a crush on Heiji. I always had him in my sight. But while I watched him I noticed that he never returned my gaze. He always looked at Kazuha. He liked her. She obviously felt the same for him. They were both oblivious to their own feelings, though. It was heartbreaking at the time, and I still sorta like Heiji... But now, none of that really matters. Now I..." I paused.

Subconsciously I lit up as the words left my lips. "I love Shinichi."

Conan's head shot up with a new found fascination.

"You've probably heard about him, the famous high school detective," I chuckled. "But he's totally different in person. Shinichi's reliable. He's fun and playful, and always knows how to cheer me up. He's also the greatest detective I've ever known. Everything about him is just- Amazing!"

"Wh-" The kid became uncontrollably flustered while his cheeks heated up to an apple glow. He sputtered, "Th- then why did you tell Kazuha that?"

"Oh, the crush thing? Well, I thought those two would be dating by now, they clearly like each other. Maybe this will be a good push to finally get them together... Although," I laughed, "this is also a good opportunity to mess with her. All those years we've been apart... I've gotta catch up on my bullying quota."

The kid faltered, "I see."

"But.." I grabbed the kid's hand and stood up, "what I said stays between us, got it?"

"Y-Yeah," he nodded with reddening cheeks.

Once I trailed down the road once more, I realized that we lost Kazuha and Heiji. My head hurt so much, it felt impossible to walk the kid all the way to Heiji's home, and my house was already in sight.

"Keiko!"

I jumped, "M-mom?!"

"You should have come straight home, now it's almost dark! And who's this child?"

"This kid's-" I narrowed my eyes at him, he countered with a playful smile, "Wh- who are you again?"

The kid shrugged.

I looked down the road, "Kid, Do you know how to get to Heiji's house?"

"Who's Heiji?"

I sighed at his antics, "...Kid, you're awfully skilled at playing dumb."

"Who says I'm playing?"

"Oh... you're good..."

We all went inside the house. I used the home-phone to call Heiji. No one answered, so I tried again with my cell. That time the rings were cut short.

"Jerk's ignorin' me?" I growled as I put my phone away.

"What's your name?" Dad asked as he greeted the kid.

I expected the kid to shrug like before, but he surprised me this time, "Edogawa Conan!" he chirped.

"Wishy-washy kid," I muttered while I sent a text to Heiji that Conan was at my house. After trying to call Heiji once more with the home phone I asked Dad, "Is it alright if the kid stays here for the night? He was suppose to stay at a friend's house, but he won't answer the phone... besides, the kid's hitchin' a ride with us back to Tokyo tomorrow."

"Sure. We don't have any extra futons though."

I looked around the empty house, "It's fine, he can share one with me."

The kid instantly lost his playful grin. I noticed his discomfort and hastily added, "Unless, he'd rather share with someone else?"

Conan took his choices into consideration; Mom, Dad, and me. Upon his new-found discomfort at the idea of sharing a bed with a stranger, he shook his head.

"No, I'll share with Keiko," he answered while enthusiastically wrapping his arms around my leg.

"How cute," I ruffled his hair with a smile.

We took turns showering, then got ready for bed. I brought Conan to my old room and flicked on the lights. He was intrigued the moment he laid his eyes on it's green painted walls. The kid checked my closet, looked out the window, ran around, and even studied the floor. I couldn't help but stifle a laugh while watching him eagerly search a room which had nothing in it.

Personally, I can't say I feel at home in my old room. It's been devoid of all furniture for years, and vivid Green hues of paint visibly lined where my old things used to be. It's as though my room is a ghost of what it once was.

I rolled out a futon in the center of the room, and switched off the lights. Conan took his time laying his jacket down, and removing some things from his pockets. So I got in the futon, and checked my phone once more, but there was still no mail from Heiji.

"G- goodnight..." Conan stammered as he slipped under the covers.

I turned to face him, "Hey."

Conan fell onto the pillow instead of slowly easing into the futon like he was so nervously trying to do.

"Yeah?"

"You never answered my question from earlier," he became perplexed, so I rephrased it, "do you have a girl you like?"

It doesn't take a mind reader to know whether the kid thought _yes_ or _no_ as a response. The scarlet scorching Conan's cheeks, and his quick "No" told me everything. Conan nestled into the covers which caused his voice to muffle, "I- I don't."

"Yeah right, you little liar," I laughed while lightly tugging his earlobe.

"But I-!" His sight collided with mine, "I..." Conan's trembling voice gradually faded. Then he daringly captured my gaze with an unexpected spark ofdetermination. However, his face flooded with an awkward reddening glow, "A- actually, I do. There's a girl I li-love a lot..."

I jumped on the topic, "Who is it? Was it one of the two I met this morning? The blond or brown haired girl?"

"Neither." Conan twiddled his thumbs, "The girl I love is c-cuter."

"Aw!" I fawned over his sincerity, "Does she know how you feel?"

Conan raised an eyebrow accompanied with a half-grin, "Sort of..."

"_Sort of _doesn't cut it!" I leaned down, bumping his forehead against mine, "Next time ya see her, you gotta tell her the truth! Cause ya see," my face heated up from the thought, "I told myself that if I won the Tournament today, that I would tell Shinichi how I feel. And well, you already saw how that went," I giggled. "Let's make a promise," I held forth my pinky, "Next time we see our crush we tell em' everything!"

Conan linked his pinky with mine, "Promise?"

I smiled, "Promise!"

* * *

><p>Whatever force was keeping me so energetic yesterday had disappeared by morning. I blame that strange doctor's medicine. He probably gave me a remedy to mask the symptoms, but since I didn't rest much, my fever only got worse. My parents were actually leaning towards visiting a hospital, but I insisted on going home. Heiji and Kazuha later bid us a fond farewell at the train station, and well, that's the last thing I remember. My consciousness faded while we were boarding the train. I later awoke snug in my bed, back in Tokyo, as if no time had passed between those two events.<p>

My alarm clock sang _Kimi Ga Ireba,_ I listened to it's melody, but failed to hear anything other than the ritual morning order to 'go to school.' When my heavy arm stopped the alarm from blaring, I quelled my panicked heart, and began doubting many things in life.

_Was it all a dream? Did I even participate in the tournament? Were grown up Heiji and Kazuha figments of imagination? Do I really have a fever?_ My thoughts paused as I answered that last question by lugging myself out of bed. _Mom and Dad should be at work_, I thought.

My clothes were drenched in sweat, I changed into a cleaner outfit, when suddenly it hit me. There, shining in all its glory, was my first place trophy. I smiled with the thought, _So, I did win_. After running my hand over its details, I giggled upon reading my name printed in the gold plated plaque, Sachiko Keiko. Feeling content with that, I returned to bed.

A few hours later I awoke, played with my phone out of boredom, then decided that it was time for food. While reaching for the refrigerator, someone talking with Mom at the door caught my eye.

"Keiko!" Ran waved.

Mom stepped aside, then returned to the living room.

"Here," Ran handed me a box.

My lessened strength gave in, and I dropped it, causing its contents to fly everywhere.

"Papers?" I asked.

"Make-up work," she answered.

While collecting the papers, my arms released them in disgust, "Geeh! Y-you're joking!"

"Relax," Ran fixed the box, and piled the papers into it, "Our classes have been going over the same things, you can borrow my notes."

"Thanks, but could I also borrow you? There's no way I'll be able to do all this alone..."

"Alright, but is it alright if he tags along as well?" Ran stepped aside, however the kid desperately clung to her skirt, only half hiding now, "My dad always fights with Conan, so I'd feel better if he was with me."

"Heey, I remember you," I smiled, "yeah, he can tag along."

Conan muffled a cough into his sleeve, "Y- you really scared us on the train yesterday. Speak up if you're not feeling well next time."

"I already got this talk from my mom... But Mom was especially angry cause she didn't even know I was sick until we left..."

The TV in the living room suddenly got louder.

"Anyway... Did Sonoko hold up her end of the deal?"

Ran held her head while wearily sighing, "Why do you two make so many bets?"

"Cause we're both too proud to admit that the other could be right."

Ran handed over six tickets. Each ticket was good for an overnight stay at an inn with outdoor hot springs.

"I still can't get a hold of Shinichi, and Sonoko said she doesn't want to go. So, that means there's two extra tickets. I was wondering if my father and Conan could go with us, and your parents, instead."

"Sounds great! But my parents won't be going. They already said that they've got too much work to do after this last vacation."

"Then we'll have two extra tickets again.."

"Not exactly."

* * *

><p>The next day I made sure that we all set out before school even began, and with Uncle driving, we headed to the Iyashi Hot Springs. When we arrived, two familiar faces were already there for us.<p>

"Maaan, this is gonna be great," Heiji greeted us at the entrance.

"Yippee, the teen detective is here," Uncle scoffed while heading inside.

"Kazuha!" I shouted upon spotting her.

"Keiko! It's been so long!" she embraced me.

"Much, much too long!"

Heiji raised a confused brow, "Ya saw her two days ago."

I slowly repeated, "Much, much too long"

"Hi Kazuha," Ran greeted her.

"Ran's here too?!"

We welcomed Ran into the group hug, then happily bounced around, "This is gonna be awesome~"

We entered the Inn and immediately heard, "Welcome," five workers greeted us at the entrance. Much to Uncle's dismay, they were all old men and women. After appropriately separating us with boy's in one room, girl's in the other, and Uncle in the next, we were free to do as we pleased. So, we headed to the hot springs. But, while walking through the hallway, I broke into a sneezing fit.

"Maybe you should get some rest instead, Keiko," Ran felt my forehead, "You're still a little warm."

"But-"

The kid interrupted me, "The hot springs can actually heal her fever. You see, a virus is something that can be rid of through heat. Have you ever wondered why you get a fever when you feel sick? Your body actually produces heat to get rid of the virus. So, by soaking in hot water for awhile, the body temperature will raise, and create a pseudo fever that will help to kill the virus," he rubbed the sides of his nose, "also the heat can help open up nasal passages."

My face beamed, "What he said!"

"Fine. But wow, where'd ya learn all that?" Kazuha asked him.

"...Television!"

"I'm starting to think you watch too much TV, Conan," Ran uneasily smiled.

"No wonder your eyes are so bad," Heiji chuckled.

Conan retaliated to Heiji's comment with a punch that sadly missed.

"There's a mixed bath?" I curiously asked as we arrived.

There were three baths; _Men_, _Women_, and _Mixed_.

"I guess there is," Ran commented as she entered the _Womens Bath_.

"Doncha wonder if anyone's in there?"

"Only you wonder that, Keiko," Heiji replied.

"I'll be back!"

"No, wait-!" Heiji reached out, but failed to catch me.

A second later I retreated back outside, running while covering my eyes, until I hit the wall and fell.

Kazuha sighed, "...So?"

"Guy's, I've seen the future!"

Heiji stifled a laugh, "How's it look?"

I bawled out, "It's wrinkly!"

Ran and Kazuha signed, while Conan and Heiji simply laughed.

Kazuha dragged me away, "Let's just get'n the baths..."

"Oh, wait!" Conan shouted. Then he ran away. Sometime later Conan returned with a bucket of ice, "If your head overheats, you might pass out again," Conan handed me the bucket.

"Thanks, Kid," I smiled.

We took a nice long soak in the springs, then changed into yukata's when we got out. Afterwards we met up with everyone in the dining room. Uncle ate rather unhappily, while the old ladies served us our food. As we were finishing up, other guests began to arrive. An older man wearing a trench coat came in accompanied by a young girl, they both sat at one table. Then at another table a well dressed middle aged woman sat down with her slick haired husband by her side.

Midway through their meal, the young girl stood up and yelled, "I'm sick of this!"

The trench coat man across the table from her said nothing. He didn't even look up as she stormed away. However, the well dressed older woman from a table over stood up, and followed the girl out the door. We didn't want to bother with their personal affairs, so we returned to our rooms.

"Whoa, hey!" The trench coat man leapt after something in the halls.

A soft nudge rubbed at my ankle causing me to hastily retreat my foot. After loosing my balance, Conan picked up the culprit, a small kitten. While in Conan's arms it purred and ran it's fur against his chest, and even up to the bottom of his chin.

Conan laughed, "That tickles."

"Isn't he cute?" The man asked.

"Yeah," Conan gleefully replied.

"Would you like to keep him?"

"Sorry, I don't think I'd be allowed," Conan peeked at Uncle, who gave an affirmative no.

Conan set the kitten down, and it went around all others and straight back to me.

"N-noooo!"

The man picked it up, "It seems to like you."

I bit my lip, shook my head and responded with, "Nononono."

The man turned to the others, "I found him on my way here, abandoned in a box. I'm not too sure what to do now though.." The man smiled as he slipped the kitten into his pocket, "It's an interesting breed, Birman, I think. If you know someone who wants a cat, please let me know."

We agreed with his words, then he smiled and left.

All of us gathered in the girls room, excluding Uncle who returned to his own room. We started off with small talk, and a game of Go Fish, then eventually story time began.

Heiji set some cards down then looked at me and Kazuha, "Remember when you two played House? In my room... with my clothes... without my knowledge."  
>Kazuha snapped her fingers in remembrance, "I remember! Keiko dressed like you from head to toe. Then when you got home, she was so shocked that she ran away, still dressed like a boy."<br>Heiji sighed, "She even took my boxers."

I spoke up, "You said you were gonna be gone that day!"

"That-"

We were interrupted by a worker who dropped by and left complementary juice and tea. We thanked her for it, then returned to the game. As everyone sipped their new drinks, I kept away from them. Along with Conan who was too busy watching TV to notice.

"Are you going to drink any?" Ran asked.

"Nah," I pulled out a water bottle from my bag, "Mom wants me to finish drinking three water bottles before I return home. She says it'll help me get better..." I sighed.

"Well, as long as it helps I guess," Ran shrugged.

After my turn, I rolled across the floor and asked Conan, "Hey kid, what time is it?"

"It's, um,"

I impatiently grabbed Conan's wrist and somehow broke the watch. The lid popped open rather nicely though.

A gasp escaped my mouth, "Oops.. I can um pay for that..."

Conan uneasily smiled, "No, it's ok, that's-"

I attempted to fix the watch, however something shot out, a needle like projectile that hit Conan right between the eyes.

"Um," I caught Conan as he tumbled over, "Kid! Um, hey, kid? C-Conan?" I laid Conan down, then shook him a bit. "I- what have I-? ...I killed this child." Then I attempted CPR for the first time in my life, "don't...die!"

"Keiko, what are ya doin'...?" Kazuha asked.

"Eh?" I reflexively hugged the kid, trying to hide his un-lively face, "I- um... this child fell asleep... I'm taking him to bed now..."

My movements were rather mechanical, but she didn't question it, "Okay.."

After tucking Conan into a bed in the boy's room it occurred to me that his breathing was fine. Conan was actually asleep, "Oh thank goodness," I collapsed.

Heiji entered at that moment and yawned, "I'm goin' to bed."

"A-alright!" I stepped aside as Heiji plopped into the bed I set Conan in.

Not even a minute later, Heiji was snoring. I was almost out of the door by then, but felt the need to check on them before I left. What I witnessed was Heiji groped around in his sleep then he stopped when Conan was positioned perfectly in his arms. I kneeled down and failed to hold in a laugh. Then for good lighting, I turned on a lamp, and took a picture of them with my phone. However when Heiji began cuddling, I hastily dragged Conan out, and put him in the other bed.

Kazuha yawned as I reentered the girls room, "I'm hittin' the sack"

I jumped, "No, Kazuha stay up!"

"I'm going to sleep too," Ran stretched.

"R-Ran, not you too... I'm so full of energy still, don't go!"

They crawled in bed, "It's been a long day..."

"No. No it hasn't. Stay awake!"

"Tomorrow we'll do more... promise."

"Fine..." I submitted by crossing my arms, "I guess I'll go enjoy the hot springs a bit before bed.."

"Don't forget your key," Kazuha followed me to the door.

"Yeah, I got it."

Then she locked it, I checked my pockets, and realized too late that I actually forgot my key. I shrugged it off, but when I returned to our room they wouldn't open the door.

"Kazuha! I know you're a light sleeper~" I knocked, "...Ran~ you love me... right?" I slipped to the floor, still knocking, "... don't torture me like this..."

An odd sound echoed through the halls. That's when the silence hit me. The whole hotel must have decided to turn in early it was so quiet. Still, one person had to be awake for such a noise to occur.

"Hello?" my voice carried.

As slow as possible, my curiosity led me to peek inside an open door. The light's wouldn't work, however I could make out a figure in the room. My heart dropped as its footsteps quickly came closer. I screamed out of fear. Such an outburst frightened the person enough to drop backwards which gave me a chance to run. The girls room was still locked. The stomps were growing louder, my panic was rising, and I couldn't wiggle off the doorknob. Finally my common sense kicked in and I felt my way to the boy's room. It was unlocked. I swung the door open and shut, locked it, then dashed into Heiji's bed.

I whispered, "Wake up, wake up!" while pushing him again and again.

The culprit banged down the door, chattering the doorknob, then lastly a few kicks. I pinched Heiji's face hard, "You idiot! Get up!"

A faint snore reminded me of another person in the room, Conan. I tiptoed to his bed.

A loud bang echoed from across the hall. I thought, _H-he doesn't know what room I'm in. It was so dark, he didn't see where I ran._ With that reassuring thought I pushed fear to a fragile recess of my mind. However, Conan wouldn't wake up either. _They're breathing... But why won't anyone wake up?_ A mess of noises down the hall caused me to cry in fear. I clenched Conan securely in my arms, _Shinichi would know what the heck is going on, he should've come. I should've forced him to come._

Conan stirred in my grasp, "Wha-?"

I tightly held Conan and rejoiced that he finally woke up, but still remembered that we had to remain quiet, "Shh."

"Keiko?"

"Shh!"

The loud bangs were slowly returning. Conan tried to check it out, but I refused to let him go.

Conan whispered, "What's going on?!"

"I don't know," I cried, "I got locked out of my room, and heard something. When I checked it out, that person started chasing me."

"Are you okay?"

I nodded. Conan felt over his yukata and getas, then he slapped his forehead like he had forgotten something.

"Do you have your cell?"

I pulled out my phone. When Conan opened it, the last picture I took appeared on the screen. He revealed the picture and glared at me.

"What is this?" he growled.

"Why does that even matter now?" I desperately whispered.

"Right..."

Conan tried calling the Inn itself, but no one picked up. When the banging in the halls subsided we sat beside the door and listened, but nothing could be heard. Conan's head jerked the other way. He dragged me between the beds, then stared at the window.

"That person's looking through the windows," he whispered.

That's when Conan called the police. I wasn't sure about involving the cops, but I wanted this to be over already.

When we could finally hear them, police sirens carried on for a whole hour before they actually arrived at the Inn. By that time, everyone had woken up, and the sun was peeking over the horizon.

"What's the emergency?" Inspector Yokomizo asked.

I bluntly responded, "I don't know."

"A-actually," Conan took my spot and explained the situation.

The police asked me to retrace my steps from last night. We were eventually led to a locked door. After the Inn keepers unlocked it, Ran and Kazuha screamed. From a rope wrapped around a support beam in the ceiling was the trench coat man, hung to death. I recoiled upon the sight, but being around Shinichi so long had hardened me a bit. Then the lightest touch to my ankle reminded me of something vitally important. He had a cat.

I took one look at it, screamed, then fled from the scene.


	17. Twisted Christmas Logic

Sorry for interrupting the story again, but it's Christmas! Well... it's still the month with Christmas in it... Anyway, although this chapter is a holiday special, it is an important part of the story. So, enjoy ^-^

* * *

><p>I'm stuck at Heiji's for the night. This weekend I returned to Osaka to give my childhood friends a visit. I went to Kazuha's home first, then later at Heiji's house they fed me some dinner. Long story short, I didn't make it home before nighttime, so Mom insisted that I stay. Stuck with me on the visit today is Conan who, for some reason or another, willingly accompanied me.<p>

Sometime before bed we were just talking, Heiji was at his desk, I was laying on his bed, and Conan was doing something on the floor.

Heiji suddenly spoke up, "Christmas..."

"Christmas?" I repeated.

"Yeah, that's the one thing you didn't go in depth about. What'd ya do for the holiday last year?"

"Eh?" Conan chirped.

"Um..."

"Well? You mentioned that it was a memorable day."

"It... was..." my cheeks tingled.

Heiji blinked. He stared at Conan, then me, "What happened?"

"Night!"

"Hey!"

I rolled under the covers, out of sight, out of mind.

"What happened?" Heiji asked Conan.

"H- how would I know? She never told me."

He grumbled, "You..."

_As if I could ever talk about that..._

* * *

><p>[One week prior to Christmas]<p>

Snow. Enticing, frigid, colorless, malleable, and all those other adjectives you can sprinkle on the stuff. Come Winter Break it was everywhere, beautifully whiting out every color in town.

"Catch!" Shinichi tossed a snowball at me. He's fully aware that my coordination is lacking. So, there I am, hands ready, and it hits me in the face.

Shinichi then pointed and laughed, "Haha!"

I mushed a lump of snow together, "How dare you!" and threw it, it excelled with mad force, but missed by a full two feet.

Shinichi laughed even harder.

I face-palmed, "Geez..."

"You just need practice," Shinichi piled snow into my hand, "Keep your elbow pointed at that tree," I blushed as Shinichi held up my arm from behind, "then swing your arm straight forward," I followed his directions then swung, but it didn't hit the tree. I let go too soon and it went up, then landed behind me instead; right on Shinichi's head. I bent down and laughed till tears filled my eyes.

"You did that on purpose..."

"Are you kidding? That's a skill I have yet to achieve."

"Heeey! We made a snowman!" Sonoko and Ran shouted from across the park.

As we walked towards them, we slowly began critiquing their frosty work, and realized that it looked a bit too much like a certain magician thief. Each step closer supplied Shinichi with a deepening irritation of it, until a pair of girls stopped us in our tracks.

"Are you Kudo Shinichi?" One girl asked.

"Y-yeah," Shinichi flashed them a nervous half-smile.

They giggled then asked, "Can we have your autograph?!"

As Shinichi signed the pieces of paper they provided him, one of the girls looked at me with the question, "Are you his little sister?"

I glared at them. Before snapping back to correct them, Shinichi restrained me.

"She's a close friend of mine."

"Oh, a friend," they smiled then turned back to Shinichi, "are there any dangerous cases your working on?"

Sonoko came and shooed the girls away, "Keep moving, he's on vacation."

Shinichi relieved his formal posture, "Thanks Sonoko."

"No problem," She responded.

Sonoko then returned to Ran, and began making another snowman.

Those fangirls sullied my mood, I failed to help Shinichi, then almost yelled at their accusations. _If I was a bit taller they wouldn't have said that_, I elevated to my tippy toes then stood beside Shinichi. In such a stance my direct line of sight landed on his chin instead of his chest. Progress.

He chuckled, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

Shinichi pushed on my shoulders until my feet gave in. I defiantly stood back on my toes, so this time he followed suit. While Shinichi leisurely stood on the ball of his feet, I strained to make myself taller then he became. In all my endeavors, I didn't realize what Shinichi was plotting.

"Maybe if you stretch your arms out it will help."

I did as he suggested and my hands ran into a branch, that at the same time, Shinichi let go of. My legs collapsed, and I fell down as snow stacked on top of me. The snow enveloped my whole body and I was rendered unable to move.

Shinichi laughed then pulled me to my feet, "Sorry, I didn't expect the snow to swallow you up."

I knelt down, shivered, then glared at my legs and thought, _why can't you make me taller?_

Shinichi lowered down to my height and smiled, "You should have worn more then just a windbreaker."

Shinichi must've thought I was cold cause he removed his scarf and wrapped it around my neck. However, it was so big that it ended up covering half of my face as well. I pulled at the scarf then blushed as I realized his smell was now constantly at my nose.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

I trailed behind Shinichi while we headed home. _What more can I do to get taller? I always drink my milk... I exercise... I'm healthy... Maybe there's some kind of surgery out there to get longer legs_, as my thoughts went on, Shinichi slouched over to see my expression.

"What's on your mind?"

"Um.." I came up with many responses to that question, but only chose one to voice aloud, "What do you want for Christmas?"

He merrily smirked, "The first copy of Sherlock Homes from an 1887Beeton's Christmas Annual. Tickets to the Tokyo Spirits first game next year. More Rosin for my violin. The American recreation of Sherlock Holmes starring Robe-"

"Anything simpler ...please? And what's rosin anyway?"

"Rosin is applied to a violin so the strings don't attach to the hair in the bow. Anyway, I'd also like England's recreation which they simply called Sherl-"

"I've got something in mind now," I smiled, "But thanks for telling me."

His enthusiasm cooled, "O- okay..."

Upon returning home me and Shinichi rejoiced and basked in the warmth of my nicely toasted home. We traveled to my room and waited for our bodies to warm up before doing anything else. While Shinichi sat in front of my small heater I pulled out a notebook and began writing.

* * *

><p>[Shinichi's POV]<p>

Keiko began writing of all things. She looked so determined and serious too, nothing like the usual Keiko at all. I felt the urge to break her concentration and make her smile. So, I poked an eraser at her nose. Keiko scratched it a bit, then went on with her business. I prodded her cheek, forehead, and chin until she finally looked up, flicked my forehead as a scolding, then continued with work. Still no smile though. I fiddled with her hair, and ran my fingers through its silkiness. Even with the dry weather we've been having recently it was still so oddly soft.

"Stop."

"...Why?"

Keiko leaned off to the side, relaxing, as her writing slackened, "Cause it's making me sleepy..."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Well," her eyelids closed, she paused, then opened them after a yawn, "stop."

After a satisfying laugh, I picked up her notebook and read it, "What are you writing?"

"I'm planning a party for my parents anniversary... Can you help?" She sat up and stretched, "After that thing you did for my birthday, I think if we put our heads together, we'll create a masterpiece."

"You're doing it for your Mom and Dad here in Beika? But they're not married, right?"

"That's not it..." She dolefully smiled, "Christmas is actually when I met them..."

I changed the mood by bluntly asking, "What do you need then?"

She turned to the next page, "What would you choose from this list of foods? Just pick what looks appealing to you. I'm getting preferences from everybody."

"Well, I like this.." I circled the lemon pie, and a few foods from the meat category. When I finished, she took one look at it and shrugged while writing off some things, "I think they'll like this more, I've never seen them eat that, and I'll choose this instead."

"If you're going to do that, why did I even bother?"

"Your opinion is valued and I thank you for it!" she grinned.

But the next day, she asked me about party ideas, who to invite, and many other things to which she basically said, "I'll use my idea instead." Her particularity on everything was actually getting annoying. But on Christmas Eve, she stopped mentioning it entirely.

Keiko called me from her cell as I was collecting drinks for the party.

"Shinichi, I decided to have the party today, sorry! We're all at Agasa's but my parents might show up any minute. So, could you come in the back door? See you in a bit!"

"Wait, why do I-" the dial tone beeped, "-have to sneak in...?"

Keiko wouldn't pick up when I redialed her number. _The Professors home has a back door, but I have to use the window?!_I thought. So, as I broke into Agasa's home, my mind prepared an arsenal of complaints for Keiko to hear.

But, what **I** heard was a different story.

"Surprise!"

I tumbled through the window and hit the floor. The Professor, Ran, Sonoko, Kogoro, and Keiko were all smiling at me. Well, except for Kogoro who was only laughing because I fell.

Keiko helped me up, then eagerly asked, "Were you surprised?!"

Instead of answering her question I squinted at Keiko, then accusingly pointed at everything, "This was your plan all along?"

"Yep!"

"What about your parents?"

"I gave 'em gift cards!"

I couldn't help but scratch my head and laugh, "I can't believe you!"

Everyone took my gesture as a white flag. They jumped around, and shouted, "We got him!"

"Shinichi," Keiko embraced me, "Merry Christmas! ...Eve!"

"Merry Christmas Eve, Keiko," I calmly sighed then hugged her in return.

Then when I tried to let go, Keiko held tighter, so I did the same. We went back and forth, hugging tighter and tighter, until she collapsed.

"Air," Keiko gasped.

A laugh escaped me, "I win!"

Ran called us to open presents. While we were unwrapping, and passing the gifts around, nothing particularly stood out. Although we enjoyed each gift thoroughly, for some reason I expected a strange invention from Agasa, or even the odd toe-socks to appear, but nothing unusual was revealed... until...

"What's this?" Sonoko opened her present and pulled out several pictures of outfits one would see in the window of a clothing store.

Keiko explained, "Since I couldn't afford it. I took a picture. This is what I wanted to get you."

Sonoko sarcastically replied, "After all, its the thought that counts..."

Keiko then opened her present, "High heels?"

Sonoko laid a pitiful hand upon Keiko's shoulder, "Use them well."

Instead of retaliating like she usually would, Keiko frowned, then stared at the gift.

Ran did one last search under the tree then tapped Keiko on the shoulder, "Keiko, did you get something for Shinichi?"

Keiko quickly smiled.

"Don't tell me..." Sonoko sighed, "you spent so much time planning the party that you forgot it?"

"Shinichi, you too. Where's your gift for Keiko?"

I nervously rolled my eyes and muttered out some form of an excuse.

"You two never cease to amaze me..." Sonoko faintly chuckled.

When everyone finished cleaning up the wrapping paper, we all had a nice dinner full of all of my favorite dishes. Then we played puzzle games, watched TV, and enjoyed some delicious Lemon Pie for dessert. When everyone was satisfied for the day, we exchanged wishes for a _Merry Christmas_ then returned home.

* * *

><p>[Author's POV]<p>

Keiko aided Shinichi while he carried some gifts, and leftovers to his house. After they put the gifts away, Keiko took a good look around Shinichi's home, yanked his sleeve, then smiled.

"What?"

"I have another surprise!"

Shinichi apprehensively surveyed the room, "Wh... what?"

"My gift to you is hidden in your house, so relax!"

"Hidden?"

She nodded, "It's hidden well. Now ya gotta find it, detective."

Shinichi shrugged her off, unwilling to relent to any other surprises.

"When did you have enough time toskillfully hide something in my home?"

Then he searched his cabinets, under the carpet, and even behind the bookshelves.

Keiko giggled. His search entertained her, and that only fueled Shinichi's need to unveil it's hiding spot even more.

"I already gave you a hint!" Keiko shouted.

Something crashed down in the room Shinichi was searching, as if responding to her outburst. What followed was silence. Keiko failed to suppress a giggle when she figured out that Shinichi was quietly thinking. Not even a few minutes later, Shinichi called Keiko into the living room. He was lying on the couch looking up.

"I came in here to think..."

"As I expected," Keiko smiled.

"And saw **that**," he pointed to a box with balloons attached that kept it afloat against the ceiling, "You said _so relax_, and that was the hint..."

Keiko nodded.

It took a good amount of effort to get the box down. Popping a few balloons did the trick, but many pens and pencils were lost in the process.

"It's a big box," Shinichi curiously observed.

Keiko gleefully nodded.

Shinichi untied the ribbon, then removed the lid to reveal... another box. He set the opened box aside, then pulled out the next one, only to get the same result fifteen more times. The last thing he pulled out was something round wrapped in tissue paper. As he tore the wrapping to shreds, Keiko began to explain her gift to him.

"It was really last minute, I mean, I just wanted to get you a plain old soccer ball."

Shinichi finally got to the goal, then marveled upon his new treasure.

"It's a soccer ball that's got an autograph from the whole Tokyo Spirits team. Mister Curtis smeared his signature a bit, but it's all intact, and-"

"This is so awesome!" Shinichi exclaimed, "H-how did you get this?! I've got a few signatures before, but this is everyone!"

"Y-you shouldn't be thanking me. I actually had to call your parents, and they arranged for this ball to get signed. I'm glad you like it."

Shinichi grabbed Keiko's shoulders, "Like it? I love it!" He tightly embraced her while gratefully exclaiming, "Thank you so much!"

Keiko joined in his exhilaration, "You're welcome!"

Shinichi handed Keiko the ball then patted her shoulders, "Wait here."

A wind bellowed outside as Shinichi returned with a box in his arms. Keiko accepted Shinichi's gift and smirked at his choice of soccer ball wrapping paper. Then as she ripped the paper off, Shinichi explained his gift to her.

"Sonoko seems to always bring up: _You haven't been here long enough to remember that or remember this_. Whenever we talk about events the school had, or even matters that happened in Beika's past. Well... I thought you were feeling left out because of this..."

Keiko pulled from the paper a sleek new photo album. In the cover sleeve of the album was a picture of Keiko, Shinichi, Ran, and Sonoko, all posing in front of the school.

Shinichi continued, "So, I asked around for photos with you in them, or even photos of others taken this year in general. Ran actually provided the most," Shinichi shyly smiled, "they were mostly pictures of us." A red hue danced on his cheeks, "but look," he pointed to a picture of Keiko standing with her Mom, Dad, and Grandma from when they first arrived in Beika. "Your parents actually had something for me to put in here. Oh, I even got Ran's parents, and few of Sonoko's-" Shinichi voice uneasily faded.

Keiko's eyes began to spill over while she was flipping through the pages. Keiko paused when the tears became too much. She desperately dried the water from her eyes, but continued to admire the gift despite her blurry vision.

"A-are you hurt?" Shinichi hovered an arm over her back. Then Shinichi cupped her cheek so he could closely observe Keiko's expression, but she pulled down.

"N-no, I'm fine. It's just," she took a deep breath, "this gift is so wonderful," Keiko's features softened. She dried a few more tears, then wholeheartedly smiled, "I can't believe you would do something like this for me." Keiko wrapped her arms around Shinichi, "Thank you," she squeezed him tight, "Thank you so much.."

"You're welcome," Shinichi returned her hug and apprehensively laid his head on top of hers.

Keiko picked the album back up then pulled out one picture specifically. The photo contained her Grandma.

"I don't think I ever told you, but my Grandma went into Witness Protection."

The news bluntly hit him, "When?!"

"Around Halloween.."

"Why didn't you say anything untill now?"

"I just didn't want to bring it up. Grandma's safe now, but I always feel sad when I think about it..."

Shinichi wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "When this is all over, you'll get to see her whenever you please. Try and look forward to that..."

"Okay.."

The mood broke as Shinichi's cell blared its ring-tone throughout the room. Agasa called to inform them about a few things Shinichi left at the party. Shinichi got up to retrieve it, and Keiko followed him out the door. As Shinichi walked into Agasa's house, he realized that Keiko was wandering away.

"Where are you going?" Shinichi caught her by the arm.

"Home."

Shinichi glanced around, then asked, "Why don't you spend the night at my house?"

That was the first time Keiko had ever heard those words come from Shinichi's mouth. Her heart fluttered, then dropped as Keiko realized she would have to turn him down, "Sonoko had a slumber party a few days ago. My parents don't like it when I spend a night out of the house more then once a week.. so asking my parents for that now would be..."

"Keiko, be spoiled for once... Tomorrow's Christmas! You just said your Grandma's not home, and I know that as soon as you return, all you have to look forward to is bed... As for me, neither of my parents are home, and tomorrow's Christmas... If you go now we'll both be spending Christmas morning alone..."

Keiko knew that Shinichi never actually cared much for the company of his childish parent's. But it was true that they had no real family to be with on Christmas day.

"It sounds like you're the spoiled one here..."

"Please!"

"Fine," Keiko pulled out her cell, then timidly called home. As soon as Keiko said, "I'm sorry it's _too last minute_, but please..." Shinichi took the phone and demanded that Keiko be free for the holidays. When Shinichi got what he wanted, he hung up, then crouched down while holding his head in mortification.

"You didn't tell me it was your father!"

"You didn't tell me you were going to do something stupid!"

Shinichi sighed, then walked into Agasa's, "A-all that matters is you're still here," then he mumbled, "and it was not stupid..."

Keiko smiled, _Yeah it was... but he did it for me_, she thought. "Thanks, Shinichi," then Keiko carried on, "And I'm sorry. It wasn't stupid, actually, it was kinda cool."

"Right," Shinichi reassured himself.

They reentered Agasa's and retrieved the things Shinichi forgot. That's when Keiko spotted some candy lying around in a crystalline bowl. She tasted a piece, chomped it down, then happily swallowed another. Shinichi grew interested in her joyful response then ate one as well.

"Tastes good," Keiko smiled.

"Wait!" Agasa sprinted into the room, and possessively confiscated the candies before they could grab another.

"Wha-what?"

Keiko defensively gravitated to Shinichi's side.

"Did you eat this?" the professor asked.

"It... it's candy right?"

He gave them a long fixed stare, "...how do you feel?"

Shinichi exclaimed, "What did we put in our mouths?!" as he stuck out his tongue.

"I've been meaning to test it, but no volunteers have signed up yet."

"Answer us!" Keiko pleaded.

"This is crucial, you answer me first!"

Shinichi's knees suddenly gave in, and he drooped over Keiko's shoulders. However, she was already having problems keeping grounded, so they both toppled and fell behind the table.

"I don't feel nothin'..." Shinichi slowly stood up.

"Heehee," Keiko found his manner of speech amusing.

They both straightened up as Agasa eyed them, their smile also hardened into a disinterested look when Agasa began his explanation.

"What you ingested was the prototype of a medicine that simulates the effects of a cold. I plan on marketing to those who need a foolproof excuse to get out of work," he pointedly stated, "But this prototype contains alcohol... I thought maybe the way the body heats up while intoxicated would be a good place to start, are you sure you feel nothing? Nothing at all?"

"Pssh, I've never felt more nothing than the nothing I'm feeling now."

Agasa was looking at them funny by Keiko's standards, so she figured that their facade probably wasn't working. However, Keiko didn't want to stay, and have the professor examine them with Christmas around the corner.

"I'm goin' to Shinichi's, byyee~" Keiko tottered out the door with her things in hand.

Shinichi followed after her, "I'm goin' to Shini... my house, byyyeee~"

Once they were safely outside, the two laughed about how they tricked the professor until their stomachs hurt. Then they stumbled into Shinichi's home, put their stuff down, and flicked on all the lights.

"These are a lotta lights... People might think there's a lotta people in here.." Keiko plopped onto the couch.

Shinichi repressed a chuckle to say, "But there's not."

To which they cut up laughing until tears filled theirs eyes.

Keiko gasped, "That wassa little too funny. A... are we really intoxid... intoxa... in..tox..ic... drunk?"

"Most likely," Shinichi collapsed onto the couch beside her.

"But we realize we're drunk."

"...yeah."

"So are we drunk?"

"Yep."

"Wow..."

After a period of silence Shinichi laid across the couch, crossed his arms, and pondered a few things about today.

"I planned my own Christmas party," Shinichi smirked.

"Yep," Keiko responded.

"I chose the food."

"Uh-huh."

"And even the games."

"Yeah."

"I did not expect you to do that.."

"Of course."

"I guess that's why I got so surprised."

"So you were surprised?" Keiko faced him.

"Yeah..." Shinichi rolled his head over the cushion, "But if you ask me later I'll probably deny it.."

"Okay..." Keiko stretched out, "I guess I'll shower now."

After sobering up a bit, Shinichi became aware that it was not the best idea to let a drunken Keiko shower. Everything was fine until five minutes after she shut off the water. A loud thump caused Shinichi to jump.

"Keiko?"

She softly spoke, "I'm... fine..."

"Really?"

Keiko paused. Suddenly, a low sad whimpering echoed through the door.

"Keiko..." Shinichi sighed.

After fully dressing, Keiko exited the bathroom.

"What's hurt?"

Keiko shook her head back and forth.

"I know you hurt something..."

Keiko pouted, then held out her hand. A small cut on the back of her palm was still bleeding over. So, Shinichi guided her to his room for first aid treatment. He first applied antibiotic ointment, then gently laid a bandage strip over it.

As Shinichi prepared things for his shower Keiko began asking questions.

"If you wont admit that the party surprised you... What could I do that you would admit to being surprised to?"

"If I told you, wouldn't that defeat the purpose?"

"Oh yeah... But if I scared you, that's surprising, right?"

"It's surprising I guess.. but not a fun one. I thought you were trying to make it a pleasant surprise, like what I did for your birthday.."

Keiko's blank smile worried Shinichi.

"Hey, those candies. I ate one... But how many did you take?"

Keiko jumped forward and threw her arms out, "Rarr!"

"...I'm... pretty sure you ate more than one..."

Once Shinichi's shower ended he felt much better. Sober, but not fully. Some thoughts remained jumbled, and others just wouldn't go away. To say the least it bothered him, but what troubled him more was Keiko's reaction to all this. He strolled back into his room and found Keiko standing beside his bed, upside down.

"Is it Christmas yet?"

Shinichi read the clock on his wall, "We've got thirty minutes."

She fell over with a frown, "Aww..." Keiko then pulled out her high heels from earlier and slipped them on, "For this years Christmas, I want tallness!"

"Oh yeah?" Shinichi muttered while he put the dangerous items into a high spot. "It can't be that bad being small."

"You have no idea Mr. Tall..."

With Keiko's futon spread out, Shinichi decided to make some hot chocolate to warm them up before bed. Bad idea. Keiko got hyper quick.

"Why don't you try and get some sleep?"

"No."

Keiko ran circles around Shinichi's room, leapt off his bed, then ran around again.

"Yes."

Shinichi reached for her, but missed.

"No no."

"Yes yes!"

Shinichi caught Keiko's arm, however he pulled her against himself, causing them to knock heads. Shinichi set Keiko down, then got up to shake off the pain.

"I'm too excited to sleep! Ya see, I put in a request for a card and a letter to be sent to them!"

"Who's them?" Shinichi yawned as he picked up some of his things that Keiko had strode out.

Keiko shyly scratched her head while blushing, "M- my Mama and Papa back in protection. It's just so they'll know how I'm doing, and how's school, and stuffs... I also mentioned you."

Shinichi flicked off the lights, sat beside Keiko, and lightly laughed, "Me?"

"I had to use a codename, but I want them to know I'm safe, and that I'm not alone. It'll be a nice Christmas present. So, I hope Santa delivers it to them on time."

"Santa," Shinichi faltered, "You don't seriously believe in Santa Claus... do you?"

"No, I don't believe in that old man."

"Then why did you mention him?"

"I may not believe in the man in red, but I do believe in the miracle of a present making it from one hand to another. Anyone who has it in them to give away a gift to feel the joy of another, or even to fulfill the wishes of another, is Santa to me. So yes, I do believe Santa."

"Then... I guess I believe in Santa as well," Shinichi laughed, "I can't believe I just said that. You're ruining my logic.. or maybe I'm still tipsy."

"I'm not taking it back."

"You don't need to, if you believe in Santa," He ruffled her hair, "or if you're short.." Shinichi sincerely smiled, "Then don't change. I like you and all of the strange quirks that make you who you are. The way you give me new views on these unusual things, it's refreshing! And don't worry about your height, your height is.. well.. Keiko height. If you were normal height it wouldn't be as much fun to mess with you."

Keiko suddenly felt an overwhelming amount of happiness and relief. It was as though Shinichi's words were all that mattered, she no longer cared for the high heels and even the little sister comment from earlier.

"We may have different views and opinions about these things, but I still think it's funny that-"

"Rarr!"

Shinichi actually shuddered from her exclamation, the power of her voice managed to hurt his ears as well.

"Again!" Shinichi prepared to berate her, "That's not a pleas-"

Once Shinichi became aware that they were mere centimeters away from one another, he froze.

Keiko earnestly looked Shinichi in the eye, "I... Um I..." one small inward pep talk later, Keiko blurted, "I like you!" Then she swooped in and pecked him on the cheek. They were both blushing madly with red hot cheeks which refused to cool down.

It was as if Shinichi's brain short-circuited, and although his expression remained in unchanging astonishment, his brain was desperately scrambling to rewire whatever came undone.

Keiko couldn't force back her embarrassment to even feign a smile as she muttered out, "Surprise."

Shinichi's head must have been a mess, because he impulsively reacted on emotional thoughts, instead of rational ones. Shinichi slowly gravitated towards Keiko. She fell back against his bed frame.

Keiko tensely smiled, "What? I-Is there something on my face? Please tell me there's something on my face." Shinichi drifted closer, "Please tell me yer usin' a weird way to get something off my face."

Despite his best efforts, Shinichi chuckled at her comical excuses. But soon Shinichi's eyes progressively narrowed. Keiko panicked then turned away at the last second. So, Shinichi ended up kissing her on the cheek.

Keiko faced him, "Did you... um, get whatever it was off?"

"No," he frowned.

Shinichi took Keiko's hand to keep her from leaning away this time.

When she finally looked at him, Keiko couldn't help but become mesmerized. Shinichi never broke eye contact. This was because at the same time, Shinichi was the one who was mesmerized by her. He cupped her jawline then gently passed his index finger over her earlobe. Keiko hypnotically fell into his hand. Although the gesture was nervous and unintentional, Shinichi felt ensured that now she wouldn't escape. He leaned in. Their eyes shut. And he finally met her lips with his.

It was a simple soft touch of skin pushing against another, a kiss, which unbelievably felt like a dream. Fireworks of elation set off in their minds which caused their hearts to pound rapidly. The feeling continued even after they let each other go.

They didn't say anything afterward. They couldn't say anything afterward. The moment felt so perfect, it was impossible end it off with just words. That, and they got too lost in all the feels. Add that to the affects of Agasa's candy, and they couldn't even hope to form a proper sentence.

Without so much as a goodnight, Keiko fell into her bed, as Shinichi slipped into his. While Keiko made herself comfortable, the clock came into view, it was past midnight. Sentimentally meaning that they kissed on Christmas day.

After all that had happened Keiko thought she wouldn't sleep that night, but before she knew it, a dream of the past projected itself into her subconscious. But rather than her usual imaginary world, the dream was a memory recomposed only into words. It was a conversation from her childhood between Keiko and her true mother:

"_Papa said ta ask you," a younger voice of Keiko asked._

_An older woman responded with, "Ask me what?"_

"_When can I kiss a boy?"_

"_Whoa, yer skipping a few steps, Keiko... It's like baking a cake. First ya bake the cake, wait for it to cool, __**then**__ apply frosting. Let's start from the beginnin': first you admit that ya like him, and if these feelings only grow stronger, you can finally say for sure that you love him. When ya love 'im, ya kiss 'im, never skip these steps, understood?"_

Keiko awoke with a wry grin as she thought, _Oops...?_

Keiko stretched out of her covers, then stared at Shinichi who was still sleeping peacefully in his bed. The memory of last night invaded Keiko's thoughts, and her head overheated. She whip-lashed the other direction, but somehow her whole world began to spin. A massive headache overcame Keiko, so she just dropped back into bed. A swirl of feelings played with her vision, twisted her stomach, and bruised all coherent thoughts. Shinichi surprised her by leaning over his bedside soon after. However, Keiko felt pity instead of embarrassment when she saw that he felt the exact same way.

Soon they were in the kitchen, sipping down a tall glass of water, and waking up for the day.

Keiko warmly greeted Shinichi, "Morning."

Shinichi yawned, but refused to look peppy while his body felt contrary to that on the inside, "Morning.." With little to no thought, Shinichi sleepily asked, "Did we really kiss last night?"

Keiko nearly spilled her drink. Then while nervously holding it in place, her pinkening cheeks answered the question before she could say, "Yeah... Th- those candies really messed with our heads though.."

Shinichi saddened a bit, "Does that mean you regret it?"

"No, I was actually really happy..." Keiko flushed when she admitted that, "what about you?"

Shinichi murmured from behind his glass, "It was definitely a good feeling."

Keiko relaxed in her chair, then stated, "We were drunk... What happens between drunks, stays with drunks.."

"Yeah."

"So... that never happened?"

"Yeah..."

"But.. it did happen."

Shinichi blushed, "Yeah."

"Y-ya know, it doesn't feel right to say that we're just close friends anymore... do close friends kiss? Well, Sonoko and Ran peck each other on the cheek when they want to pretend like they're in France, but they're best friends. They do weird things like that all the time..."

"Then... me and you will be best friend's from now on, that'll make it better."

It didn't actually feel like that would change a thing, nor was that the answer she wanted to hear, but Shinichi's reassuring smile would make Keiko believe anything.

"Okay. Best friends it is," Keiko bashfully smiled.

* * *

><p>Luckily, Keiko and Shinichi were on the end of their hangover, so the pain wore off rather quickly with only a few spells of nausea before the afternoon hit. Before that though, Keiko baked a few dozen cookies, so they had something to give away on Christmas day.<p>

Shinichi was admiring his new autographed soccer ball when Keiko entered the room.

"Merry Christmas!" Keiko had specially a cookie with a bow then handed it off to Shinichi.

"Now that it is Christmas, I don't have anything to give you."

When Shinichi bit into the cookie, Keiko expectantly inquired, "Well?"

"If I was your test subject, you could've just asked..." he took another bite then nodded, "It's good."

"Yay~," Keiko handed him a bag full of smaller bags which held cookies inside them, "We're playing Santa today."

"Are you going to give me a choice?"

"Are you going to make me go alone...?"

"I see... no choice... how unrelenting," Shinichi got a better grip on the bag, put on his coat then announced, "Let's go."

Kogoro could care less for the cookies Keiko gifted, but Ran and Sonoko lightened the mood by happily accepting her gift next. They stayed for lunch then after visiting Agasa, and a few others, Keiko headed home to gift a couple to her parents.

"Oh, Keiko!" A guy roamed down the street when he spotted her.

"Oh, hi! Merry Christmas," Keiko responded.

Shinichi observed their interaction with the utmost amount of suspicion.

Shinichi bitterly asked, "Who's that?"

"He's my classmate," Keiko smiled.

Keiko was a little too enthusiastic for this random boy. Shinichi had never even met him, _and why should Keiko smile like that upon just a mere classmate? No one just get's this happy for a classmate. Who is this kid?_ Shinichi's mind raced with thoughts as he glared the guy down. However, the classmate only saw Keiko as he approached.

The guy caught his breath then returned her smiled, "Hey, I uh, heard that you had a birthday this month?"

"Well, yeah actually. It was on the fifteenth of this month."

"Oh man, then this is embarrassing..."

"What?"

"I brought you a gift," he held out a box, "It's just some cookies.. but I thought it was better than nothing. Now, I guess it can be a Christmas present as well!"

"Aw, thanks!" Keiko extended her arms to give him a holiday hug. However, Shinichi pulled Keiko's hand straight up, and spun her around like a ballerina so she embraced him instead.

Keiko was so happy at the moment, she didn't think wrongly of his actions and chirped, "Hi Shinichi!"

"Hi Keiko!" Shinichi enthusiastically replied.

"Wh-who's this?" The classmate asked while masking his annoyance upon witnessing such a scene.

"Kudo Shinichi! He's my best friend!"

"...Are you two always like this?"

"Yeah," Shinichi smirked and rested his head upon Keiko's, "we're inseparable. She even spends the night at my house on some occasions."

"That reminds me, I made some cookies at his house this morning, would you like some?"

"N-no thank you," the classmate looked Shinichi over once more before backing away, "I've got to be somewhere.. but Merry Christmas.."

Shinichi chuckled while Keiko happily replied, "Merry Christmas!"

They walked into the house and Keiko set the cookies down on the table in her kitchen. She took the box her classmate gave her and picked a cookie from it.

"At least I can enjoy someone else's cooking besides my own today."

Before she bit into it, Shinichi stole the cookie from her, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Heeey..." she grabbed another then stuck her tongue out at him, "Stingy."

Again, Shinichi stole her cookie, but this time he even took the whole box. Despite her best efforts, Shinichi defiantly scarfed down the entire box that her classmate had given her.

"...Why...?" Keiko wept.

"They didn't taste good at all."

"Then why did you eat all of them?!"

"I didn't want you to get sick."

"But it was miiiinnee..." Keiko stubbornly crossed her arms.

Shinichi sighed. She was overreacting to the loss of such a pointless gift. He didn't want her to eat it, why couldn't she just accept that? Shinichi opened up the fridge and relinquished some part of his sanity, "...Show me how to bake them..."

"Bake?" Keiko's arms dropped, "You bake?"

"Don't get your hopes up..."

After trying repeatedly to teach Shinichi the simplest of all cookie recipes, sugar cookies, Keiko gave up after the first okay batch.

"Finally... they're edible!" Keiko rejoiced.

"Really?!" Shinichi bit into one, "No way! It's not too salty, not too burnt!"

"But it is too sweet. Did you add another cup of sugar again?"

"I don't remember anymore," he finished off his cookie, then shoved the dirty dishes into the sink, "Either way, I should stick to making deductions... catching criminals is way easier than this... but that's beside the point." Shinichi took a cookie, then tied a crooked bow onto it. He smiled and gave it to Keiko, "Merry Christmas! ...don't you dare ever tell anyone that I baked..."

Keiko laughed, "Thank you, and I won't!"

The sun was actually setting by the time the two said their goodbyes.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Keiko's cheeks tingled as her memories of the kiss slapped once more against that clear window into her mind, "Of course I'll see you tomorrow. We see each other every-"

Shinichi laughed at Keiko's shy efforts. If only just for a moment, it felt right, and Shinichi kissed Keiko on the forehead. Keiko flushed, and soon began talking gibberish.

Eventually, she touched her forehead, looked to him, and asked, "We're in France?"

He laughed, "We're in France. Goodnight, and Merry Christmas, Keiko."

Her voice trembled, "N-niiight! And Merry Christmas, Shinichi!"

* * *

><p>[End of Flashback. And meanwhile Heiji's room...]<p>

Heiji rolled out a futon in his floor specifically for Keiko to sleep on. One, because his bed could only fit two, himself and Conan. Two, he didn't want to sleep on the floor or in the living room. Three, because he had recently bought some comfortable, and plush new pillows for himself so **he** could enjoy them. However, Keiko fell asleep in his bed, right on the new pillows, and he wasn't brave enough to wake her.

"Someone's gonna have to sleep on the floor," Heiji dreaded the thought.

"And someone's going to have to sleep next to Keiko," Conan blushed.

...Needless to say, neither of the two slept well that night.


End file.
